Time And Space
by TheMenace3117
Summary: The plan is simple. Save Sonic from an orbiting wasteland he's been stuck in for nearly 2 years. Will everything go exactly as planned? Absolutely not. But his friends have to try. During the trip, they realize getting him home isn't the hard part, but containing what they unknowingly bring back is the challenge.
1. Chapter 1

**HEY EVERYONE, THIS IS THE FINAL PART OF MY SERIES CALLED "THE NOBODIES" **

**THIS IS ALSO THE FIRST TIME I'M WRITING ABOUT SCI FI ELEMENTS, SO I TOOK INSPIRATION FROM A NUMBER OF MOVIES, TV SHOWS AND NOVELS. PLEASE ENJOY AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**_Chapter 1: Getting In_**

It's been over a year since Sonic the Hedgehog disappeared after a confrontation with Dr. Eggman went horribly wrong. While the blue hedgehog was only sent away from Mobius, he was offically declared dead when no one could find him. Everyone else has seemingly moved on from his "death", but Amy still holds out hope he's out there.

She was brought to tears when one day Sonic returned, but suddenly disappeared almost as fast.

The ensuing battle with 3 super-powered teenagers and Tails' clone almost completely brought her house down, but her friends eventually defeated this rival team.

After locking the front door of her nearly destroyed home and getting ready to walk to a safe house, Amy is surprised by the sudden flash of a bright blue light behind her that lights up the entire neighbourhood. Thinking this is Sonic, she drops her bags turns around

Only to find Silver the Hedgehog standing before her

"Hello, Amy Rose. I got the distress call. Where is he?"

Amy, slightly disappointed, sighs and picks up her bags once more

"Sonic is already gone. Maybe even dead. Who knows..."

Silver raises an eye brow

"He's not dead. He's stuck in The Nexus"

The pink hedgehog looks up

"The What?!"

"The Nexus. It's the wasteland in between realms, I thought you knew this?"

"You know how to get there?!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then take me! I need to save Sonic!"

"Wait just a second! Where are your friends?"

Amy unlocks the front door and puts her bags back inside

"They're off on important missions, or something. It's just me, Silver"

"Well, I gotta tell ya, if you're planning on going there, you're gonna need help"

Amy picks up her War Hammer and locks her front door

"I only need this. Now please, take me to this place!"

Silver looks around for anyone else but sees nobody in sight

"You know, I came here looking for Shadow, but this seems a million times more interesting. Sure. I'll take you there"

"...wait, you knew where Sonic was this entire time and haven't said anything or tried to rescue him?!" Amy growls

"The Nexus is a place I can't just enter and exit at will! If you go in there, there's a big chance you're not getting out... and I haven't been able to tell you about it because I've been very busy. You have no idea the places I travel to every day"

"...one year, Silver. Sonic's been gone for an entire YEAR, and you couldn't take 5 minutes to stop by and at least tell us he's alive?!"

"Yeah, when you say it like that, it sounds bad!... Okay, I admit, I could've come by, but I honestly thought you guys knew where he was!"

Amy leans against the wall and takes a moment to compose herself, while Silver checks out her destroyed house

"...tell me about this place. How bad is it? What's in there?" She asks

"The Nexus started off as an orbiting satalite but over time the inhabitants turned it into a wasteland. It got so bad that the architects who built and operated it just decided to abandon the place. Let the poor saps who got stuck there run it. So, naturally, a battle for leadership took place, and a lot of people died..."

"And Sonic was sent there?! Jesus!"

"...look, Amy, this place isn't somewhere you just go in and out of. It's a slaughterhouse in space, and there's nothing but evil men and women there, at least there was when I last saw"

Amy looks at the ground for a moment, gripping her War Hammer tighter

"...so what I'm saying is it's not worth it. I know Sonic's your friend but you will not come back from this if you go. I'm sorry but that's just the reality" Silver says disparagingly

She looks the taller hedgehog in the eyes "You listen to me, I love Sonic and I would do anything for him, including walking into hell, and even if the odds of coming back are 1 to a million, I'll take that chance everytime. And you know why? Because he would do the exact same for me, even if he'll never say it"

Silver puts his hands up defensively "Amy-"

She holds her Hammer up in a batting stance "Now take me to The Nexus or I swear I'll break your legs - starting at the knee caps!"

"OKAY! Jesus, lady, calm down! I'll take you to the god damn Nexus! ...just remember that I warned you..."

Amy smiles as she lowers the hammer and picks up her bags.

"...are you sure you don't want me to pick up your friends? I'm telling you, you'll need them" Silver reaffirms

"No. If the odds of surviving are this low, I don't want to endanger anyone else other than myself. No one else needs to get involved"

"I really think-"

"Silver, promise me you won't bring them in, promise that you won't even TELL THEM!" Amy shouts

"Alright! I promise!"

She nods her head in approval

"Lead the way"

And just like that, Amy's wish was granted as the Telekinetic hedgehog transported her off the face of Mobius and into The Nexus.

One of the many things Silver had seemingly forgotten to tell Amy was that time works differently in this wasteland. Two days have past since she's arrived in the Nexus, but it's been much longer than that back on Mobius.

"Nutshell" by Alice in Chains plays through Amy's headphones

The pink hedgehog carries her giant hammer as she walks on a grey dirt road. The stars and nearby moons are visible in the sky. The sun is rarely visible to The Nexus, so it's always night time in this wasteland.

Amy has been busy, questioning locals about "A Blue Hedgehog" and everyone has pointed out to a small city nearby. But they tell her it's the most dangerous part of The Nexus, some even pleading with her not to go.

But Amy didn't come all this way just to back out now.

The Pink Hedgehog reaches the dirt road that leads to this city and she stops to compose herself, knowing it'll be a tough fight once she gets in.

"Okay" Amy says to herself "...you can do this. You've got it. He would do the same for you. Come on"

As she stretches out and practises a few swings with her War Hammer, Amy hears her name being called in the distance.

She turns around and sees three dark silhouettes walking over the horizon

Then she recognizes her friends as they get closer

"No"

Tails carries a large over-the-shoulder bag, while Knuckles looks around the wasteland and Manic walks in the middle leading the trio

"AMY! IT'S US!" The green hedgehog shouts in the distance "Your boys are finally here!"

"No, no, no - NO! Damnit!" Amy screams out "Silver, you bastard!"

Manic looks at Knuckles

"What's her problem? I thought she'd be happy to see us?"

"I don't know, Manic, we JUST got here!" The Echidna responds

"Oh. T, what do you think?" he says as he turns to the fox

"No clue, but she must have a reason to be upset" Tails says

The guys make their way over to Amy and finally catch up to her

"Aren't you happy to see us, Ames? What's the matter?" Manic asks

"No, I am, but - I made Silver promise not to get you guys involved! ...I didn't want you guys getting hurt or killed because I decided to come here" Amy says

"I don't know if you know this but everybody back home thinks you're dead. That's how long you've been missing, we had to come find you" Tails points out

"Missing? I've only been gone for 2 days!"

Manic and Tails look at each other for a moment

"Uh - it's been 7 months" The Fox says

"_**7 Months**_? No way, that's not right, guys, it's literally only been 2 days!" She argues

Knuckles shakes his head "Sorry but he's right. You've been missing since January"

"What? _Since_ January? What are you guys talking about?"

Manic unlocks his phone and shows her the date and time of a live world clock

As the realization hits Amy, she drops her Hammer in the dirt and puts both hands on her head

"Wait, everyone thinks I'm dead, too?" She asks

"Well, for the most part, yeah" Manic says "But don't worry, me and T rebuilt your house, and payed the bills because we knew you were still alive - and I needed a place to crash"

"Really?"

"I'm letting you know right now, I've had a bunch of parties there and uh, you're gonna need new dry wall. And electrical work. Or maybe just move to another house. Sorry"

"Well, it was really sweet of you guys to pay my bills even though I was missing. We'll talk about that other stuff later... Guys, Silver did tell you that the chances of coming home were nearly impossible, right? That's why I didn't want you to come with me!"

Tails takes off the large bag he's been carrying and unzips it

"Yeah, I already thought of that. It took awhile, but I got all the pieces and the formulas together"

Amy looks on as the teenage fox starts building a tall, clunky looking piece of equipment. He plugs his artificial intelligence device, The SAGE program, into a USB port and a red light comes on

"It's a definite down-sized model, but I have successfully rebuilt the device Eggman used to send Sonic here in the first place. Not sure what to call it, but it's our ride home, Amy" Tails says

"Where did you get that?"

"Manic raided a G.U.N base where they kept all of Eggman's technology they seized, then he broke Knuckles out of prison-"

"Which was no easy feat, I'll have you know" Manic adds

Amy turns to the Echidna "What were you doing in prison?!"

Knuckles chuckles dismissively "It's a long story but I'll just say they locked me up for bullshit reasons. Vector and Espio got dragged into it, as well but they're doing okay. Prison's not all that bad, actually"

"My god, what the hell's been going on since I've been away?" Amy asks

Tails stops building the transportation device "Me and Manic kicked the crap out of Scourge and took his missing Medallions back"

"Ha, that was awesome" Manic says as he gives the fox a high five

"...then I went back to school and studied advanced technology. Good thing I did because this device was insanely difficult to even understand, let alone get operational. But, as is often the case, the task was complete. We are now in possession of a functioning multi-realm transportation device"

Amy's eyes widen "Multi-realm?"

"Well, these two realms at least. I've only tested it out on The Nexus, worked perfectly each time. So we should be okay once we return to Mobius"

Knuckles interrupts the fox "Right, can we get to smashing things, now? I'm not a fan of this place, Tails. Everything here just seems off"

"Yes, of course. Okay - plan of attack?"

Amy points over to a large metal gate "The locals told me they know for a fact that Sonic was being escorted into this city. They said the leader of The Nexus has his guards protect him, and his investments. Now, being that Sonic can run at light speed, you could see where The Leader could see profit from him"

Knuckles crosses his arms "Guards, huh?"

Manic looks at the Echidna "That's all you got from her entire speech? _Guards, Huh_?" He says in a deep voice to mock him

"So, you're gonna be a son of a bitch right off the bat. Alright..." Knuckles says as he looks away

"I'm just saying-"

"Can we get back to her plan?" Tails asks assertively

Manic gestures over to Amy "By all means, please"

"...anyway, I was gonna rush in, cause a distraction and bash my way through as many guards as possible, and - that's about it, actually..."

"That's the plan? Literally smash shit in hopes that Sonic will hopefully know it's you and pop outta nowhere, make out with you and run off into the sunset?" Manic asks

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PLAN, YOU SMART ASS!" Amy shouts, causing Tails to jump back

Manic reaches into his black vest "I'm so glad you asked, see-"

He reveals his Jade Green Medallion and instantly starts to glow with its energy

"I was gonna fly in there, crack a few skulls, y'know, the usual ass whoopings I give out, and overpower my outclassed opponents while somebody finds my brother and we make our escape"

"Sounds good to me, let's do it" Knuckles says

"WAIT!" Tails shouts

The group looks down at him as he puts pieces of the transportation device back in the bag he carried.

"...this is our one and only way home. Nothing can happen to this, alright? We lose it or it gets destroyed, that's it, we're stuck here... so the moment we have Sonic, come back to me and link hands so we all have a connection, and nobody is left behind. Understand?"

"Yeah, we got it, now let's go!" Knuckles calls out

Amy stands in the middle with her War Hammer, Manic smirks as his powerful Jade energy builds up in his hands, Knuckles outstretches his muscular arms and Tails flies above the ground as the group charges the gates of the mechanical city.

A straight right hand/superman punch combination from Knuckles and Manic easily knocks the gate down and the group enters. Immediately, guards on a watch tower are alerted and ring a loud bell.

"Alright guys, here they come. Split up, give 'em moving targets. And stay clear once you see green lights flashing. I'll try to get a look around while we do this" Manic says

"Sounds good to me" Amy replies

"Just be fast. I'll be over to the left doing my thing" Knuckles grunts

Tails stays silent as his heartbeat increases upon seeing the army of guards rushing towards them with metal shields and clubs

"GO!"

Manic leads the charge and the four friends split off in different directions while a wall of angry guards race to meet them.

And unfortunately, that's the last thing either of the four actually remembers.

The battle is over before it even starts.

Amy is the first to wake up, nose covered with dried blood and head still spinning. She is freaked out when she realizes she is standing against a wall with her hands chained above her head. The cold metal causes bruising on her wrists, but she tries to escape, if only in vain.

Amy looks beside her and sees Knuckles on the left, and Manic on the right of her, but he is hanging upside down by his ankles

She gets a terrible feeling when she doesn't see Tails anywhere.

Knuckles opens his blackend eyes next and Manic starts coughing, which turns into dry heaving until he coughs up some fresh blood.

The Echidna turns to Amy but doesn't make eye contact

"Well, that plan went to absolute shit pretty fast..."

"Hey! HEY! The hell is this?!" Manic calls out

The guard watching them walks towards the trio, his face just as bruised and beaten as theirs

"Quiet, prisoner!" he orders

"Homeboy! Why do they get regular shackles but I'm hung by the ankles?! This shit HURTS, man! You're gonna KILL me!" The green hedgehog shouts

"You're hanging by the ankles because everytime we put your shackles on, you kept getting loose, so we trussed you up!" The guard responds angrily

"That somewhat makes me feel better, but this ain't cool! This is cruel and unusual! Where's Tails? He's got that portal gun!"

"Tough luck" The guard says

"Could you get me down if I promise to be a good boy?"

"No chance. Now be silent!"

"Hey!" Amy shouts "Where's our friend? At least tell us that before you walk away!"

"...Mr. Victor wants to speak to you four individually. The Fox is up first" The guard answers

As the guard leaves the room, Amy looks at Knuckles, who is clearly upset so he shuts his eyes. She turns to Manic as he tries to get loose but his hands are shackled to a metal grate on the floor.

"God, I hope Tails is okay" Amy says with fear in her voice

"He's alright. I know him, he's tough... He won't talk"

Up in a massive boardroom, Tails is on his knees and both his wrists are shackled together in front of him.

"...anyways, that transportation device is our ride home, mister, sir.." the Fox says weakly "...what uh, what was that stuff you injected me with? I don't feel too good"

"Truth Serum. Hard to come by, but it does it's job, Miles Prower" Mr. Victor says

A slim built male Eagle sits up in a throne-like chair. Half his body is robotized and his flesh is covered in scars.

Tails squints his eyes as he looks at his captor

"How'd you know my name?"

"My guards picked up your wallet you dropped. I read your student card. You're a 15 year old honour student and and you try to storm my Castle? Not too smart, kid" The leader says

"Wait - What's your name, again? I'm having trouble remembering at the moment"

"My name is Roman Victor, young man. You and your friends made the biggest mistake of your lives by charging my fort. But, being the civilized leader everyone's come to know me as, I'm listening to each of your stories before I enact the proper punishments"

Tails looks around at everyone else inside the boardroom watching over the hearing. He spots a Chameleon who resembles Espio, but this one wears a high tech metal helmet that glows with red lights along the jawline. Beside him stands a tall Female Wolf who shows off her razor sharp claws as she waves to the teenage fox.

Victor looks at them for a moment "Oh, them. These are my two personal body guards, I call them guardians because it sounds cooler"

The Chameleon looks down at the Fox

"...this is Velocita. I believe he took down your green friend first and then the bigger, angrier red one right after that. Ten seconds, that was. Impressive"

Tails glares at the Chameleon, until he makes eye contact through the metal helmet.

The Female Wolf steps up next

"And this is Maine. She got you and the pink one. Always fun to watch"

As Tails goes to speak, he sees the guards pick up the transportation device and take it away

"NO, WAIT!"

He tries to stop them but the guard closest to him whacks the fox in the leg with a metal club.

Victor looks amused "Wait a second, gentlemen. I wanna see what's got our guest all riled up"

The guards put the device down and Victor stares into the Fox's eyes

"What is this thing? Really? Because there's no way in hell its a multi-dimensional teleporter or whatever you said"

Tails looks up at the leader

"...Multi-realm transportation device"

The entire room bursts into laughter upon hearing the correct title, while Victor scoffs at this

"So you're telling me that you four dweebs just came from another 'realm' with this thing?"

"No..."

"Good because I would've told you that's ridiculous" Victor says "...tell me how you got here"

"A telekinetic hedgehog named Silver brought us here-"

"A telekinetic silver hedgehog brought you here, are you kidding right now?"

Even more laughter is heard from the board members while Tails puts his head down in defeat.

"Send this one back to the pits, he's talking nonsense, now! We'll be here all day listening to this crap... there was a girl with them, bring her to me, I wanna talk to her" Victor orders "...and get some stronger Truth Serum, it's clearly not working on these guys!"

Tails says nothing as two guards grab him by the arms and take him away. He sees three more guards take the transportation device away, then he shuts his eyes to get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Back for More**_

ONE HOUR LATER

Amy doesn't make it easy for Victor's guards to control her, but eventually she calms down and speaks with the Robotozed Eagle. She tells him pretty much everything Tails said, but not as polite as the teenager put it.

After offering Amy a glass of water, only to be spit on in return, Victor orders his guards to bring Tails, Manic and Knuckles into the boardroom.

"What're you doing?" Amy asks

The Eagle cleans himself off with a tissue before answering "...I understand you're angry with me, Amy Rose, so I'll cut the shit... I like you. You've got heart, and you're clearly not afraid. You and your friends made it here from - Wherever you're from, so you all seem like you're quite capable. We could use that around here"

Victor's two guardians, Velocita and Maine, turn and give their leader concerned looks, only to be waved off by the Eagle.

Amy looks up at him "So, what the hell does that mean?"

"...I'm gonna make you an offer"

The Fox, Hedgehog and Echidna are brought in, each wearing heavy shackles that are connected by chains around their ankles. Amy stands up but is stopped by a tall guard.

Victor opens the blinds to a large window, giving his guests a view of the wasteland horizon.

"...there's 5 major districts out here, 3 on the satellite and 2 more that lead to a nearby sub-station. Now, we've got groups that occupy these areas and work out here to make it half-decent to live in. And I'm giving you 4 a chance to work with us, since you aren't leaving anytime soon-"

Tails clears his throat "Well, we could just as easily leave if you give my device back-"

"Yeah, but I already sent it off for inspection from my science team, so, looks like you're stuck here" Victor responds gleefully

"Wait a second - you _want_ to keep us here, don't you?" Knuckles asks

The leader nods his head

Manic lunges forward angrily "What for, baldy?!"

As two guards knock him down, Victor sighs before answering Manic's question

"...my teams need help with everything, pretty much. Our workers aren't the greatest or most reliable, my science and resources team don't have the knowledge to find a safe way off of this satellite and I'm trying to keep everything afloat, all by myself... we just wanna live, guys, and I'm not afraid to ask for help when I need it"

"How do we know everything you just said isn't complete bullshit? Huh?! My brother came through here and now he's nowhere to be seen! For all we know, you could've killed him!" Manic shouts

"Yeah, Sonic, right? You guys came here for him... I met with him but he ran away from me. I can truthfully say he's not here and we weren't able to find him, as much as we've tried"

"**LIAR!**" Amy shouts

Victor sighs, growing agitated "You don't have to believe me, but this is what I'm telling you. Sure, you could break out of here and run, but you wouldn't last one night out there. And that's a fact. So really, you guys came here for nothing because your friend Sonic is almost certainly dead and in the ground. You can believe me on that one"

Amy growls angrily as she gets back to her feet, ignoring the warnings from Victor's guards.

"Now, I'm making you a deal: You work for me or you all die right here and now in front of everyone"

The pink hedgehog says nothing as she manages to get closer to the warlord.

"If you came here thinking you were going to kill me-"

Amy interrupts Victor "That wasn't the plan to begin with, but now I just might take you up on that"

The Eagle laughs "I'd love to see you try"

As the boardroom shifts their attention to Amy fighting to get at Victor, Manic quickly reaches down, lock-picks the shackles around his ankle and hears a CLICK as the locking mechanism opens, freeing all 3 captives.

At the same time, Tails looks up and makes eye contact with Maine. The female Wolf shakes her head _No_, warning him not to make a move.

Knuckles starts off the brawl by swinging his fists wildly at his captors, encouraging Manic to join him.

"They're loose! Stop them!" Victor shouts

Amy fights with a guard in the centre of the boardroom, while Manic spin-kicks his way through the guards racing toward him.

The only one not moving is Tails.

"Come on, kid, move it!" Knuckles shouts while knocking down everyone in his path

Maine keeps her eyes glued on The Fox, now able to sense his fear.

Velocita, the chameleon with the metallic helmet, blocks the exit for Manic so they race toward each other and get ready to fight.

Until the green hedgehog side-steps and trips Velocita.

He bumps into Maine and they tumble down a small set of stairs, so Tails runs away from the fight and Knuckles looks away angrily.

As Victor's guardians get back to their feet, Manic decides its time to leave, but Knuckles wants to fight.

"Amy!"

Manic races over to her, lock-picks her ankle shackle and both make a run for the exit.

"Knux, where's Tails?" Amy calls out across the boardroom

"I don't know, he split!"

Just then, Velocita grasps Manic and Knuckles by their throats

"I don't think so" The chameleon says through a distorted speaker in his mask

As they fight to get loose, Amy kicks him in the body but this does nothing, then Maine tackles her to the floor.

Manic and Knuckles start to lose conciseness when Tails flies in and quickly removes Velocita's mask, revealing black eyes and grey skin.

It's his turn to gasp for air as he releases the duo, giving them a chance to run.

"COME ON! LETS GO!" Tails shouts as he flies around the boardroom

Manic pulls Maine off of Amy, tosses her down a hallway and locks the door behind her.

Velocita kneels down as he struggles to breathe, so Knuckles hits him with a knee strike to the face before taking off with his friends.

The Fox throws the helmet out the 4th story window and looks back "Meet me by that bridge outside! We've got a better chance if we split up!"

"I agree. Watch yourselves out there!" Manic says

Amy looks up "Wait! Tails-"

Gunfire erupts through the hallway doors, so Manic pulls Amy close and they dive out the window, spiraling down and crashing into a steel ledge, Manic's body taking the brunt of the fall.

Knuckles throws a metal table at the door and then races to a stairwell on the opposite side of the boardroom.

Tails zooms down the hallways at top speed, dodging past guards and avoiding being caught.

"Too slow, guys! I thought you could keep up!" The teenager shouts

He gets past everyone in the stairwell and dives down to the main floor. Guards reach over the railings but nobody can catch him.

The Fox stops and looks for a vault room or storage area, spotting a massive door that's wide open just down the hall.

"Come on, don't let me down..." Tails says to himself as he approaches the door

He enters the room and finds Amy's War Hammer, Manic's medallion and pieces from his Transportation device.

"Hell Yeah!"

Just before he grabs them, a human-like android steps in his way, eyes glowing red

"Aw, come on!" Tails shouts

The android steps forward, Tails ducks and rips out it's CPU chip from it's neck as he zooms past. The android falls down and crumples into pieces.

"Well, then... lets wrap things up, here"

The Fox grabs his gym bag from a locker, loads it with his device and carries everything else as he leaves the vault room. His two tails propell him forward at such a fast speed that he knocks over guards that are in his way. He kicks the side doors open and looks out at the massive maze that surrounds the castle.

Tails exhales "I really don't have time for this..."

The Fox flies above the green maze and easily gets past everyone on the ground. Guards race through the maze and try to cut him off but Tails is already far away from their location.

On the west side of the compound, Amy and Manic recover from their 4 storey fall. The green hedgehog lets out pained groans, indicating he's hurt.

"Manic, come on, we gotta move! I know you're hurt but we can't sit here!" She says, doing her best to help her friend up

"Uggghhh... just leave me here, Ames... I can't move, you gotta get outta here.."

"Manic, you're not staying here, now get up! Let's go!"

Just then, Tails flies around the corner and races over to the ledge they're sitting on.

"Amy, Manic! Catch!" He shouts

The Fox throws the War Hammer to Amy and throws the Jade Medallion to Manic.

In an instant, the green hedgehog's eyes glow Jade Green and the Medallion's energy fills his body.

"Whoa! God Damn, that woke me up!" Manic says, looking noticeably stronger

Amy pulls him up by his vest "Great to hear, now let's move!"

Before they can come up with a plan, Tails zooms through the sky once again.

"Tails! Where are you going?! TAILS!"

"He's going back for Knuckles. He'll be alright, Amy, we gotta leave the castle before they pick us up, again" Manic warns

The two hedgehogs jump off the ledge and make a run for the large compound gate they broke down to get in here.

Back inside the castle, Knuckles is surrounded by Victor's guards in a ballroom, so he does his best to keep them back. He dodges attacks, counters with powerful punches and kicks, but there are just too many guards for him to handle. One by one, the guards dog pile ontop of the Echidna, while he tries his best to get free.

Victor stands at the top of a stairwell and observes

"Don't kill this one! He looks like he could work..." The Eagle says

As Knuckles growls angrily, he feels two hands grab his left wrist and pull him from under the dog pile.

It's hard to see, but he makes eye contact with Tails through the crowd.

"Tails! Don't worry about me, I can take 'em! They're gonna kill us both, you gotta let me go!" Knuckles shouts in between breaths "...really, I can handle this!"

"No you can't, I'm getting us both outta here!" the teenager responds

He cries out as he uses all his strength to pull the heavy Echidna from under the guards. Knuckles attacks them with painful elbow and forearm strikes, until the path is clear. Tails lifts his friend into the air and they both fly through an open window.

"You sacks of shit are lucky! You won't have my boy here to stop me, next time!..." Knuckles calls out while wiping blood from his nose

"Shit, I hope you fall!" one guard shouts as they fly away

As they gain height, Knuckles relaxes and is given a chance to breathe.

Down on the ground, Amy and Manic have escaped the compound and are using a chain link fence as cover while they move.

"I hope they made it out" The pink hedgehog says

Something catches Manic's attention in the sky "Look, that's them up there! They're alright"

"Oh, thank god. I was worried for a minute-"

"Wait, what the hell is _that?_"

Their attention is shifted to the top of Victor's castle, Maine is running as fast as she can and heading in the same direction as Tails and Knuckles. She picks up speed and jumps as high, and as far, as she can.

Knuckles looks back and his eyes widen "Tails, Look Out!"

The female wolf is able to slash Knuckles' spiked glove, causing him to let go of Tails hands, while she also gets ahold of the Fox's gym bag hanging over his shoulder.

"Knuckles!" The Fox calls out "Ow, OW OW! Let go!"

He watches the bleeding Echidna free fall over 80 feet down into a nearby body of water.

At the same time, Velocita has retrieved his mask and races out to catch the two hedgehogs.

Manic grabs Amy's hand "Oh shit, **RUN!**"

The Jade Medallion helps them gain speed and get a head start, but Velocita is not far behind.

Up in the sky, Tails fights to get Maine off of him, while trying to get away from Victor's castle. She's digging her sharp claws into his arms, making him wince in pain as he flies west.

"Get off me, lady! OW! No, don't scratch me! OWWWW!"

Maine says nothing as she drives her claws deep into the teenager's rib cage, immediately drawing blood and a painful scream.

"Ugh! Wait, is - whoa, that's a lot of blood.."

Tails blacks out mid sentence and both he and Maine begin to free fall over 100 feet. The female wolf starts to freak out as she watches the ground coming up fast.

She shuts her eyes and waits for impact, but instead feels another pair of arms grasp her and Tails.

A massive individual catches both the fox and wolf in mid air, lands on the ground and all three roll to safety.

Maine looks up and recognizes the individual instantly

"Aw, shit-"

He zaps her with a modified tazer mounted on his forearm. Tails suddenly wakes up but his vision is blurry and he's too weak to move after losing so much blood.

He watches the individual open a cellphone and make a call.

"...yeah, It's her. She's got some new guy with her, this time, don't know who he is... he's got two tails and - damnit, he's bleeding all over the sand, get down here! I'll try to keep him alive, just hurry!"

Tails feels a large bandage being put on his wound, then medical tape being wrapped around his body to put pressure on and stop the bleeding.

Before he can say anything, he passes out from the pain.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: The Others **_

Back on Mobius, due to the time shift in The Nexus, it's been over 2 weeks since Tails, Manic and Knuckles left to find Amy. Charmy Bee sits in a large gaming chair with a headset on and typing furiously on a keyboard. His basement apartment is littered with empty soda cans and restaurant takeout bags.

He has three computer monitors set up, one displaying his game, the other two broadcast security camera footage around his property.

After Tails' debacle with some hackers last year, Charmy has upgraded his security in case a situation like that ever happens to him.

A loud doorbell rings out so Charmy glances at the front door camera and is surprised to see Rouge the Bat standing outside. He uses a phone app to unlock the door and Rouge comes downstairs.

"Whoa - what is that smell? Jesus, it's like a locker filled with wet socks in here, Charmy!" The Bat exclaims as she covers her nose

"Does it? Heh, I guess I'm just used to the smell. Just a second"

The Bee opens a new tab on his monitor, plays with the settings for a moment, then suddenly the windows are opened up and fans blow the air back outside, while a wall-mounted can of air freshener sprays the apartment.

Charmy grins "There. Just like new"

Rouge leans a chair over and clears the soda cans off before she takes a seat

"Right... have you heard from Knuckles, or Manic and Tails? All three of them are in big trouble with G.U.N for stealing their equipment and breaking Knux out... there's talk that they might be put on a most wanted list, so it's pretty serious"

Charmy curses as his game character is shot down, so he logs off and takes off his headset

"...those guys were supposed to be back like 2 weeks ago but I haven't heard anything yet" He says

"Can you call them?" Rouge asks

"I've been trying everyday, well - most days this past week... no answer every time, but, let's try again"

He pulls out his phone and dials Tails' number first

At that same moment in The Nexus, Victor stands in the vault room Tails raided before he escaped the Castle. He and an assistant are going through the items when Tails' cellphone starts vibrating inside a brown bag. He managed to confiscate the friends' cellphones when they were here.

Victor opens it up and presses the TALK button, but doesn't say anything

"...Hello? Tails? It's Charmy, where are you? You guys said you'd be back 2 weeks ago! I've been waitin' here ever since!"

Thinking he can deceive the Bee, Victor clears his throat and attempts to mimic Tails' voice

"_Uh_ \- _Yeah, Ch-Charmy? It's me, I uhh, I'm stuck here and I need some help, can you guys come back here?_"

"You're not Tails, the deep voice gives it away!"

"_Damnit!_" Victor growls before going back to his real voice "_Listen kid, your friend's life depends on you and the others returning here right NOW! Alright, no more screwing around!_"

Charmy looks at Rouge for a second before snickering "Yeah, as great as that offer sounds, I'm gonna pass on that because it sounds like complete bullshit, but good try, tho"

"No, wait!" Rouge says, but is too late as he hangs up "...CHARMY! What the hell was that? They could be in danger!"

"Relax, this exact same thing has happened before. I'm gonna trust my instincts and say this guy is lying"

"What - how the hell can you be sure?! You just hung up on him!"

"Easy, I'll just call Amy"

Her phone rings, but Victor's voice answers the call

"_Guess who_"

Charmy hangs up "...I mean I'll call Knuckles"

"_Just wait a second!_" Victor says, only for Charmy to hang up once again

Rouge crosses her arms "Come on, Charmy..."

"Okay, chill out! ...I don't like calling Manic, but he's our last contact so let's get this over with"

At the same time, Manic and Amy are running from the robotic killer Velocita. The Jade Medallion's energy only gives him so much power before it wears out, and Manic is starting to feel tired once again.

He sees a small building that looks like a garage, so he pulls Amy's hand as he races over. The doors are locked, so he gives her a boost up to a high window and she climbs in. She extends her hand, Manic runs, kicks off the wall and barely reaches her hand, being pulled inside as well.

They find a place to hide just seconds before Velocita kicks open the front door and starts scanning the interior.

As The Chameleon's Heads Up Display (HUD) gets a layout of the garage, a loud screeching sound stings his ears, so he presses the volume button on his metallic mask.

"Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees plays loudly

"Oh SHIT! SHIT!" Manic whispers, reaching for his waistband

"What the hell is that?!" Amy asks

"It's a ringtone I set for Charmy! The fuck is he calling me for?!"

In an instant, Velocita climbs up the stairs and stands over top of the two hedgehog's hiding spot

"Your little game is over. Make it easy on yourselves and don't fight. You already know what'll happen" The killer warns

"Remind me, Velocita, what will happen?"

All three of them look over a railing and see a brown haired female hedgehog guarding the front door, while a taller, muscular male hedgehog holds a curved weapon and leans against a metal beam

Velocita's red LED eyes squint slightly as he recognizes the duo

"This doesn't concern you, Penelope"

The male hedgehog steps forward, causing the Killer to back up slightly

"Well, seeing as you're on our side of the boarder, in our home, I'd say it does, pal"

Knowing he's outnumbered, Velocita braces himself for an attack

"...you really wanna break our truce for a couple of outsiders?"

"We would break it to save anyone from you robotic assholes" Penelope says

"...you will regret this, I promise you that"

"Yeah, and I'd appreciate it if you took your robot nuts and got the hell off our land" The male hedgehog calls out

As he leaves, Velocita glares at Manic and Amy one last time

"You won't always have someone to protect you from me"

"Let's go outside and see who needs protection, you weird douchebag!" Amy shouts

Manic holds her back "Easy, Ames, it's cool... we're safe here"

The group waits until Velocita is gone, then they stand across from each other

"...are we safe here, though?"

"That depends" Penelope says

"On what?"

"On why you came here"

"Lady, we were prisoners in that asshole's castle! Trust me, _robo nuts_ ain't our friend" Manic says

Penelope looks up at her friend, then they nod in agreement

"Well, then I guess you're not a threat to us, so maybe we should introduce ourselves. She is Penelope, my name is Cam"

"Amy Rose, and he's Manic" the pink hedgehog says

The four quickly shake hands and the tension between them is relieved.

Suddenly, "Stayin' Alive" starts playing again, forcing Manic to step away and turn his back to the group as he struggles to pull his phone out and answer Charmy's call.

"Yeah, what?"

"Please tell me that's actually you, Manic" Charmy says

"You little bastard, you gave our hiding spot away and almost got us KILLED! And that's all you wanna say?!"

It goes silent on the other end until some mumbling is heard, then "...okay. Just had to be sure"

"Look, Charmy, my phone's dying, do you actually have something to say to or not?"

"Yes, I do. Look, Tails said you'd be back a couple weeks ago, but nobody came through. I've been sitting here waiting by this big ass machine in my basement, so like, what the hell is going on?"

Manic sighs "Shit hit the fan, we got roughed up, split up and last thing I saw was Knuckles and Tails take a 100 foot fall with a wolf on their backs. And Sonic wasn't even there! Amy was though, so not everything was a waste of time..."

"Shit. Well, Rouge is saying you guys got some serious heat with G.U.N down here, something like you might be on the most wanted list? I don't know. Just a heads up"

"Great. I'll keep that in mind, Charm"

"I'm sure you will"

"...look, thanks for checking in, nobody else would've given a shit. I'll keep you posted"

"Take care of yourselves out there"

The green hedgehog puts his phone away and joins the group, then Amy turns to him

"...Manic, Victor's guards took away everyone's cellphones, but you still have yours. Why is that?"

He starts scratching the back of his head "Yeah... I kinda hid it in my boxers just in case, and the last 2 hours have been VERY uncomfortable, to say the least"

"God damnit, man!"

"Ew!"

"You tucked that in your pants and you just shook our hands?"

"Hey, this is a $1000 phone, like hell am I letting that Calypso-looking prick just take this from me! ...oh, what? I'M the weird guy now? Whatever!..."

Amy turns back to Penelope and Cam "...listen guys, we came here to find our friend, his name is Sonic. He's blue, runs super fast? Seen a hedgehog like that around?"

Penelope looks at her "Does this Sonic guy leave blue trails behind him when he runs?"

"YES! That's him!"

Cam's expression quickly changes "And this guy is your friend?"

"Uh oh" Manic says

"Your friend is responsible for so much bad shit around here, you know?! He's the reason the truce had to be made! He pretty much started a war by himself! And would've brought everyone down if nobody stopped him!"

Amy shakes her head "No, he wouldn't do that! He's not a bad guy!"

"You haven't been around here to deal with the mess he's made, Amy"

Cam reaches down for the curved weapon, so Manic kicks him in the face and takes him down. As Manic gets the upper hand, Penelope levitates him off the ground with a special ability and throws him across the garage. Amy swings her hammer but it's stopped mid-swing and pushed back in her face, knocking her backwards.

Manic gets to one knee "Great, these guys have superpowers, too! What are the chances..."

As he finishes that sentence, Cam whacks him in the face with an old helium tank. A loud CLANG sounds out as the metal hits his jaw, instantly knocking him out.

Penelope uses her telekinesis to wrap steel sheets around Amy.

"We don't wanna hurt you, so calm down" Penelope warns

"I'm pretty sure you just broke my friends' jaw!"

"Look, calm down. We just wanna make sure you're not a threat. You wanna talk? Let's talk"

Before anyone says a word, Cam's radio goes off

"Where the hell are you?! I've got Maine and this two-tailed fox here! I'm getting sick of waiting, guys!"

Amy looks up at them "You bastards better not have touched my friend!"

"You've got another friend running around The Nexus?" Cam asks

Amy sighs "If you would've let me finish my story, then nothing would've happened!"

Cam nods at Penelope so she takes the metal sheets off the pink hedgehog. Manic's Medallion starts healing him so he wakes up and is about to lunge at them, but Amy holds him back.

"...tell your story as we meet our friend Hunter. He's got your buddy in the desert"

* * *

Tails wakes up sitting back-to-back with Maine, and his ribs have been wrapped up, but they're still aching with pain. He notices the stars over the sand dunes have changed colour, and two moons shine a bright highlighter yellow shade. He tries to move but his hands are tied and knotted with a worn out piece of rope, along with the female wolf slouched over behind him.

He looks up and sees they are bound to some kind of satalite conductor that's stuck in the sand.

"You awake, princess?" Hunter greets "...you almost bled out all over the sand, but I gotcha stable, kid. So you're welcome"

"Where are we?" Tails asks

"In the middle of Jambi country. It's all desert from here"

"...you wanna let me go or what, pal? I haven't done anything wrong"

The yellow haired hedgehog opens a flask and takes a drink, while sitting down on a metal crate marked AMMUNITION

"A couple friends of mine are on their way here, and they've got questions. Depending on how you answer is how we determine your freedom"

"Yeah, me and my friends just escaped that Victor guy like, an hour ago, and now we have to put up with your shit? Just gimme a break!..."

"I don't know where you're from, but things don't work like that 'round here"

Tails strains as he tries getting loose "I'm from Mobius, Green Hill! We came here for our friend, nothing else! Now let me GO!"

The yelling wakes up Maine and she looks around, realizing the predicament she's in

The female wolf sighs "...hello Hunter"

The yellow hedgehog gives her an unfriendly grunt in return

"Look, can we skip the expositional bullshit already? We both know you aren't going to kill me, or the kid" She says

Hunter leans forward "You think you're so smart? You think we won't do it?"

"Um, no. Not at all"

"You're not getting away with all the shit you've done, this time. You or that fox"

Tails interjects "Let me stop you right there, me and her aren't friends. I have no part of whatever she's involved in so, uh, keep me outta that discussion. And my name's Tails, not that fox"

"I don't give a shit, you two arrived together, you both go down together" Hunter says

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine"

Maine laughs "Yeah, he's not exactly the brains of their organization, Tails"

"I can certainly tell just by talking to him"

Hunter leans back and puts his sunglasses back on

"You won't be laughing when my friends get here"

"Is that right? Well, 'til then, I'll be sitting right here laughing in your face!" Maine says before laughing in an over-dramatic fashion

"Whatever, I'm not rising to your shit"

Tails looks around the area, noticing how far away from Victor's castle they have traveled, then going sick to his captor

"...do you two know each other from high school or something? You seem to know a lot about each other"

Maine leans against Tails' back "Hunter had a thing for me, I told him to eat shit, then we chose sides"

Tails raises a brow "Sides?"

Hunter crosses his arms "Opposing sides in the battle for The Nexus. And I think I know whose side you're on, kid"

Tails takes a moment to think about this statement, and he finally realizes the severity of his situation.

* * *

After falling 80 feet and crashing into the jagged rocks inside the one river he's seen in The Nexus, Knuckles struggles to keep his head above water as he's swept down the coast. His entire body is sore from the fall, especially after a few rocks cut him.

He stays afloat on his back and follows the rushing water to a small beach-like area. He uses the rest of his strength to crawl uphill and lay in the wet sand.

"Son of a bitch..."

The echidna takes a moment to compose himself. He's tired, injured and now, lost. Far from his friends, Knuckles decides to get up and try to come up with part of a plan.

"...alright, Knux, lets get to the high ground. I'm sure there's a better vantage point from up there"

As he stands up, he notices his two spiked gloves are ripped, falling apart and now soaking wet.

"Oh, you gotta be shitting me!..."

He peels the gloves off and curses loudly as he is forced to show his scarred and worn out fists, each finger bearing marks from his fighting past. He throws the gloves away and climbs up the dirt hill. As he reaches the top, a few other voices get his attention.

Knuckles stays low at first, trying not to be seen.

A short female ferret grabs her young daughter's hand and tries to leave their bunkhouse, but they are stopped by a male Ox, clearly the leader of the gang who are waiting on the patio.

The Ox is about the same height as Knuckles, but very heavy-set compared to the echidna.

"Dane, don't do this! You said we could leave if things didn't work out, now please just let us through!" The ferret says

"I don't remember saying that. And besides, it's already way too late to leave, honey. You two are here for life" Dane exclaims

The young mother looks him in the eyes "You promised me"

As the Ox grabs her arm, Knuckles quickly walks up the staircase around the back of the patio and comes around the corner of the wooden bunkhouse

"The lady wants to leave. Let her go" Knuckles says assertively

"What the hell?"

"Who's this guy?"

Dane's gang are surprised that anyone would step up to them, so the Ox releases the ferret and decides to face the echida

"You must be one of those goons from the castle. Well, aound here-"

"I'm not from any part of this shit hole, and I'm not a goon. The lady asked you to move, so move. Nothing else needs to happen"

Dane looks at his three friends and laughs "_Nothing else needs to happen?_ Yeah, like you're gonna do something? hehehe... look, you make a move and your grungy hands will get cut off real quick, got me? Go be a hero somewhere else, freak"

Knuckles stands his ground "I've been waiting to let loose on somebody this whole time I've been here. Why don'tcha come test yourself out, asshole"

Upon realizing Knuckles is serious, Dane quickly signals for his friends to surround the lone Echidna, while reaching for a knife in his back pocket

"Look, I don't know who you are, but this doesn't involve you. Now, I'm giving you one last chance to walk away, pal. So be smart and leave"

Knuckles eye contact with the mother and her child before making his choice

"I walk when they walk"

"Not happ-"

Dane is brought down by a powerful punch in the gut, causing him to puke all over the patio. Knuckles dodges the knives, catches one thug's hand and twists his wrist 180 degrees, breaking it instantly. His screams of pain are loud enough for the rest of the 'neighbourhood' behind them to hear.

"Oh shit!" the other two thugs say as they back up

Knuckles pushes their friend towards them and growls "You wanna keep going? I'll do the same to you!"

Dane stumbles back and leans against the wooden railing "What're you waiting for? Get him!"

The remaining thugs get one look into Knuckles' eyes and see absolute hate staring back at them

"Dane, man, this shit isn't even worth it!"

"What?! Hey!"

The three thugs quickly take off down the main staircase and leave their leader standing off with Knuckles

"You pussies!... (exhale) ...I'll remember your face, echidna! I'm gonna cut you up next time!"

Knuckles kicks a knife over to the heavy Ox and puts his arms out

"What's wrong with right now?"

Dane growls angrily and stumbles down the stairs after his friends. Knuckles watches him leave, then feels eyes staring at him from behind so he quickly turns around.

The female ferret backs up as Knuckles walks towards her, until he stops to pick up the knives Dane's gang dropped

"Thank you" She says

"You don't need to thank me..."

"Yes, I do. My name is Maddie-"

"Well, mine ain't important. You take care of yourselves, now"

"Wait! Dane will send twice as many thugs out to find you, now that he knows you're his enemy!"

Knuckles chuckles "Great, then it'll be twice as fun for me"

"This gang is way too much to handle"

"Where I'm from, I specialize in gang warfare, I think I'll manage"

"Well, they'll um, also be coming for us now that they know you came here to protect us-"

Knuckles turns around "Let's get one thing straight, lady: I beat the crap outta Dane and his goons because I wanted to, because I needed a reason to hit someone. I got rid of those assholes so now you and your kid can move in peace, so go"

"They'll never let us leave the district alive. Please help us get across the boarder"

"What? No! I'm already lost as it is, you're asking me to go out of my way the opposite way I came. I can't do that, lady, I've got friends waiting on me. Sorry"

As Knuckles walks down the first step, Maddie grasps his arm

"Please, we won't live to reach the boarder without your help"

The Echidna sighs "...Fine!... I don't know why I'm agreeing to this but let's go..."

"Thank you, sir, we really-"

"My name is Knuckles. And I told ya, you don't need to thank me. Lets just get this over with..."

The trio leaves the bunkhouse and it takes awhile before anyone says another word. As they pass other houses and buildings, the locals stare at them in an unfriendly manner.

Maddie's daughter lightly touches Knuckles' scarred hand and he looks down

Maddie pulls the child's hand away "Sorry"

"It's fine... I'm on edge right now because I was only supposed to be here for one hour to find my friends, but of course things didn't go as planned, now I'm separated from the ones who brought me here. And I'm pissed off..."

"Did you come a long way to find your friends?"

He laughs "That's the thing, I don't even know how far from home I am!... I just got dragged into this mess and expected to fix everything. I'm from Mobius, if you're wondering, and I can't wait to get back"

"Really? A lot of my friends are from there, too. The ones we're meeting at the boarder"

"Yeah, how far away is that from here, by the way?" Knuckles asks

"2 miles, maybe 3"

"You're joking, right?"

Maddie shakes her head

"Shit...let's move it, then. Come on, walk fast! Damnit!..."

They get through the small town, walk through a dirt field and stay along the side of a road. A loud buzzing noise irritates Knuckles, but he says nothing. Maddie tried to talk to him but he clearly doesn't want to socialize.

The buzzing noise gets so loud that Knuckles stops and tries to look for it

"What the hell is that sound? Where's it coming from?!"

He feels the noise getting louder and the ground shake so he turns around and suddenly he's knocked on his back. Someone steps on his forearms to prevent him from getting up, then Knuckles makes eye contact with the attacker, Sonic the Hedgehog

"You blue son of a bitch"

"Knuckles?!"

The Echidna pushes his friend off and both stand up

"You two know each other?" Maddie asks

"Know each other? This is one of my best friends!"

Sonic goes in to hug Knuckles, but he gets a punch to the gut and dropped to his knees, instead.

"Best Friend is a bit of a loose term, right now..."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: The First Encounter**_

Roman Victor calls his lieutenants to the boardroom for a meeting, now the only ones left inside his castle. He curses under his breath as he walks through the interior, almost completely torn apart after the fight with Sonic's friends. Victor climbs up the concrete stairs, takes a seat and waits for his men to enter.

Velocita comes through a metal door on the left of the boardroom, followed by Victor's android assistant Spaceman, and the militia leader Raul.

"Lets state the obvious and admit we underestimated our guests. Especially that Rose girl" Victor says "...but, I think we can come back from this"

"With respect, those heathens have taken Maine and have now aligned with the local renegades. Mr. Victor, we stand at a major disadvantage" Velocita says

Raul steps forward "I agree with him, sir. We're the best pure fighters in The Nexus but there's only so much we can do against an enhanced enemy squad"

Victor growls "...what about Sonic? He's the one we gotta watch. They haven't gotten to him yet, have they?"

Spaceman reviews security footage of taken from cameras all around the wasteland, and sees Knuckles meeting Sonic.

"I can confirm one of their members has made contact with Sonic the Hedgehog, sir"

"Damnit!"

Velocita and Spaceman look at Raul for an answer, so he steps forward "Sir, as your combat analyst, I recommend we bring in Mongol"

The Eagle turns to him "No. Absolutely not! We can't let that psycho loose, look how long it took to get him back inside! No, we don't need him"

"Victor, we've lost control of this situation. It's a desperate call for sure but we cannot defeat the renegade faction without Mongol. His aid is the only kind of advantage we have left"

Victor sighs and rubs his forehead "...alright, I'll go with you. If you say we can't handle this alone, then I'll trust your decision... but _you_ need to handle Mongol, I won't speak to him again"

Velocita nods and leads Raul and Spaceman out of the boardroom. Victor leans back in his 'throne' and calls for an assistant to bring him a drink.

* * *

After a short hike thru a desert area, Cam and Penelope lead Amy and Manic to where Hunter is holding Tails and Mine. The group climbs over one last sand dune and finally reach the yellow hedgehog's campsite. Amy walks past the others and makes eye contact with Hunter

"Where is he?" She demands

The taller hedgehog points to the left "Over there"

The group catches up, partially getting in Amy's way

"Move" the pink hedgehog says as she pushes past Cam

"Relax, lady, jeez.."

Amy makes her way over to the satellite conductor that Tails is tied to, then quickly unties the ropes around his hands, but leaves Maine to sit alone.

"Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?" she asks as she looks him over

"I'm fine" Tails answers

Amy spots some gauze and bandages around his waist so she looks at Hunter angrily

"What the hell did you do to my friend?!"

"I'm pretty sure I saved his life! Don't try to put that on me! Go speak to that hag over there!"

Tails tries to calm her down "Amy, I'm alright, it's okay"

"No, it's actually not. You can't let these guys walk all over you, Tails"

Penelope makes her way toward them "Okay, I think I've heard enough from you"

Amy stands face-to-face with her "What, do you think that just because you have super powers, you can push around anyone you want?"

"We're not pushing anyone around, but I'll be damned if the two idiots we just saved are gonna disrespect us right after!"

"Well, you shouldn't have disrespected my friend Sonic back there. That's just asking for trouble"

As the girls argue, Tails gives up trying to keep the peace and joins Manic, Cam and Hunter. The Fox bump fists the green hedgehog and takes a seat on an ammunition crate, meanwhile Manic's phone starts vibrating so he pulls it out of his pocket

"I gotta take this. You guys aren't gonna do anything, are ya?" He asks

Cam looks at Hunter, then back at Manic "Nah. We already know we could kick your asses, so it ain't even worth the effort"

The green hedgehog raises a finger to him and shakes his head in disapproval before turning away to answer the call.

"Oh, what the hell, video call this time? Damnit, Charmy... hey, does anybody have a signal? The reception out here is dog shit..."

The green hedgehog raises his phone up to get a better signal, finding the closer to the satellite conductor he gets, the better reception his phone receives. Manic walks over to Maine and grasps her shoulder for leverage as he steps onto an ammo crate next to her.

"Hey! Stop that! Quit it!" She yells

"Hold still, I don't have much balance up here!" Manic responds, then his call is connected "...sweet!"

Charmy Bee appears onscreen sitting at his computer desk, and he's not alone in his apartment. Manic's friends Thompson, B.B, Farrell, Mickie and Bark are seen hanging out in the basement apartment.

Rouge walks by holding OMEGA 123's head, the only part of the robot's body that survived the scrap yard, and his head now resembles an old computer monitor from the 90's.

"Hey, Manic" Rouge says as she sets OMEGA's head down on a desk

"Oh, hey. What're you guys up to, having a party?" Manic asks

Charmy looks up at the female bat, then back to the screen "Well, I told Rouge not to tell anybody about this, but you know her..."

"Tommy! B.B! Pops! Mickie! Bark! What's happening!"

As Manic's friends wave to the screen, the frame rate slows down and he gets an inaudible response.

"I didn't hear a damn thing all of you just said but it's great to see you guys! I don't know if I mentioned this but this Nexus place sucks ass. Can't wait to get back"

Charmy is pushed out of view of the camera and suddenly Knuckles' pregnant girlfriend Julie Su appears on screen

"Is Knuckles with you? I really need to talk to him!" She calls out

Manic can hardly hear what the pink echidna is saying while Amy and Penelope argue directly behind him

He turns around "Hey, cool it, ladies, I'm on the god damn phone! I can't hear shit!... sorry, what'd you say?"

"Our child is about to be born! I know you broke him out of prison, I need Knuckles here NOW!"

"Yeah, that's a funny story, Julia-"

"Julie!"

"Julie, my bad. See, we're on a giant satellite in outer space and we sorta got split up so uh-"

"WHAT?!"

The loud feedback from the speakers makes Manic pull his phone away from his face until it quiets down.

Amy looks up at the green hedgehog intently, while Tails signals for him to not tell Julie anything about The Nexus.

"Uh, what I mean by that is, we'll have Knuckles back to Green Hill before that baby arrives, Julie. You don't have to worry about a thing" Manic says

Julie sighs in disbelief "...I really need him, Manic. Please don't let anything happen to him!.."

"You've got my word on that"

The pink echidna steps out of view of the camera and Charmy sits down in his gaming chair, cracking open a fresh can of soda.

"Things are pretty messed up over there, ain't it?"

Manic feels a gust of ice cold wind hit him, so he crosses his arms together to get warm

"...things are as great as you'd expect it to be in an orbiting city in space. Pitch black out where the light posts down cover, one part of this shithole is half decent, the rest of it is all garbage. (sigh)...I really wanna go home, man"

"So, come home. I've been sitting here for two weeks waiting for Tails to use the transporter and bring you all back"

Manic looks over at the fox "...yeah, well, we lost the god damn teleporter device or whatever the hell it's called. Now, we're stuck. Sonic's nowhere to be seen, Amy didn't even want us to come, but you know us, we can't help ourselves... I'm starting to regret coming here"

The wind picks up and soon everyone is freezing. Tails wraps himself up with a long sleeve shirt, but even this isn't enough to keep warm.

The ground starts to shake so much that Manic falls off the ammo crate and falls on his back, dropping his phone in the grey sand and ending the video call.

"What the hell is going on?!" Amy shouts

Penelope, Cam and Hunter look up towards the stars

"Is that - Mongol?"

Tails and Amy look up to see what they're talking about, while Manic growls quietly as he gets back up to his feet. Maine shifts around until she can look up at what everyone else is looking at.

A dark, massive figure appears to be jumping from hilltop to hilltop, clearing 30 feet gaps with ease.

"Holy shit, it is Mongol" Cam says

Tails turns to the taller hedgehog "Who?"

"Mammoth Mongol"

"What? Are you serious? _**Mammoth Mongol?**_ I know him!"

The entire group looks at him, with Amy speaking first

"You do?"

"I know _of_ him!"

The group's attention is brought back up to the stars once again. Mongol shakes the ground as he vaults across the hills, getting closer to their location.

Manic looks down and sees Maine has a giant grin on her face

"What're you all cheery about?" he asks

"I knew they'd send someone for me. You guys are so fucked, now" the female wolf says

Manic looks up, sees Mongol is getting closer yet nobody is moving so he nudges everyone

"Yo, idiots, maybe we should move just in case he-"

"Hey, he's getting pretty close, ain't he?"

"Oh SHIT!"

"Man, look out!"

Manic pulls Tails and Amy to safety, while using his Jade Medallion's energy to push the other three out of the way. Mongol narrowly misses them as he stomps on the ground, kicking up sand as he moves.

Mammoth Mongol stands 22 feet high, with his ears measuring 7 feet on their own. His dark brown shaggy fur serves as a body armour for his round torso. His grey trunk is 2 times as long as a regular elephant's trunk and that much stronger, while his tusks have been sharpened to a razor point.

"What the FUCK, man?!" Manic exclaims

Tails gets to his feet "Why's it always gotta be monsters?"

Mongol lets out a deep roar as he swings his giant fists as the group, and both sides fight together against the behemoth.

On the other side of The Nexus, Sonic is still recovering from the gut punch Knuckles gave him, while the echidna argues with him.

"...and other thing pal, we came all this way to this pile of monkey crap Nexus place just to find you, and now we're stranded here so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little on edge!"

As Knuckles speaks, Sonic feels the ground shake and hears Mongol's roaring, even from this far away. Without hesitation, Sonic picks up Maddie and her child, zooms out of sight and leaves the echidna alone but he hasn't noticed they've left.

"You know what I think you are, Sonic? An egotistical blue bastard! Yeah, that's what I really think of ya-"

Knuckles is interrupted as Sonic races by, grabs his forearm and takes him towards the fight.

In less than 10 seconds, Sonic and Knuckles reach the desert in Jambi Country and the blue hedgehog starts his attack by throwing Knuckles at the back of Mongol's head, dazing the behemoth on impact.

"Oops!"

Knuckles lands on the ground and grasps his abdomen

"You did that on purpose!"

Mongol turns around and lets out a deep growl

"Blue..."

Sonic spin dashes around the behemoth, using homing attacks and quickly evading before Mongol can hit a counter strike

"Still too slow, big guy!" Sonic taunts as he moves at light speed

Amy can hardly believe what she's seeing, shouting the blue hedgehogs name in excitement.

As Sonic looks at her, Mongol uses this split second to back hand him in mid air, sending him skidding across the sand.

"NO!"

Amy throws her War Hammer at Mongol before he stomps on Sonic, giving her friends a chance to attack the beast.

Manic fires Jade Energy Blasts to distract him, while Penelope uses her telekinesis to uproot the satellite conductors from the sand and throw them at mongol. Cam uses his curved weapon to hook the beast' left leg and drop him to one knee.

"Watch out!" Hunter shouts

The tall hedgehog climbs up Mongol's bent leg, grasps one of the tusks and applies a headlock-type hold, preventing the beast from moving too much.

Knuckles finally gets to his feet, gets a running start and jumps up at Mongol's face. He swings his left fist at the tusk Hunter is holding and smashes it with such power that it snaps and breaks into behemoth roars out in pain and anger, swinging his massive fist at Hunter and Knuckles in retaliation. The yellow hedgehog dives out of the way but Knuckles is caught and knocked back with enough force to send him backflipping through the grimy desert. Hunter takes this chance to combat-roll towards the broken shards of Mongol's tusk and puts as many pieces in his pockets as he can, then combat-rolls away once more.

Seeing that Mongol is being overwhelmed, Maine calls out to the beast to free her.

Tails looks over "Maine, WAIT!"

Mongol uses his trunk to grasp the female wolf, but Tails grabs her hand and holds on as tight as he can. The others fight the beast so he is distracted while Tails pleads with Maine.

"What are you doing?! RELEASE ME!" She yells

"You can't go with him, he'll kill you after he doesn't need you anymore!" The Fox warns

"You don't know what you're talking about, let me GO!"

"I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!"

Mongol's trunk tries to pull her away but Tails won't let go

"I almost killed you an hour ago, What do you care for?!" Maine demands

Tails strains as he holds on "...there's good in you, Maine, and you can change - You don't need them!"

Maine is taken off guard by this statement, however Mongol isn't impressed with the Fox.

"Enough, _Two-Tails!_" Mongol says

Cam looks over "Kid, if she wants to leave, let her leave!"

"Yeah, don't be a hero, she ain't worth it!" Hunter adds

Manic notices Mongol has turned his attention to Tails, looking to kick the small fox with his giant foot.

"I got him!" Manic calls out

His Jade Medallion gives him enough of a speed boost to run around Mongol and tackle Tails out of the way before the soccer kick connects with either one of them.

At the same time, Mongol accidentally releases Maine from his grasp as he pulls her away from Tails, and she is thrown over 100 feet across the desert.

"Oh shit" Tails and Manic say in unison

"**MAINE!**" The behemoth shouts

He forgets about the fight and jumps over the sand dunes to the wolf's location. Cam, Penelope, Hunter and Knuckles regroup with Manic and Tails, while Amy helps Sonic to his feet and walk back to them.

"Well, then. I guess we win?" Manic shrugs

Even though he's out of sight, Mongol's scream is heard everywhere throughout The Nexus. The group is startled by the rumbling this causes and one by one, all eyes look down at Tails.

"Now you pissed him off" Hunter says

Without hesitation, Sonic hooks his arms around Amy and Penelope and takes them away from the battlefield.

"Hey! What about us!" Cam shouts

Sonic returns to grab two more and zooms away. He repeats this until everyone is rounded up inside a massive cave, partially hidden from the rest of The Nexus.

"Everyone get back! It won't take long before he finds this entrance, so we gotta move!" Sonic calls out

"Hold up, I'm not going anywhere with the likes of you!" Hunter says sternly "...as far as I'm concerned, you're the reason all this is happening, and your friends are just adding to this mess!"

Mongol's footsteps are heard getting closer and closer, causing rocks to fall from the roof of this dark cave.

"...however, I think I can make an exception this time-"

"Yeah, you'd better shut your ass up 'less you wanna go have a play date with our boy outside" Knuckles says

"What'd you say, little man?"

Hunter stands a few inches taller than Knuckles, but the Echidna faces off with him regardless of the difference.

"I've listened to ya talk for 10 seconds and I already know I'm gonna end up kicking your head in, pal. Just waitin' on you" Knuckles responds aggressively

Hunter chuckles "I've met so many wannabe bad asses like you, Echidna, and they all went down the same-"

"Then it should be no problem to kick my ass, now shouldn't it. Come on. You get the first shot"

Cam puts his arm in between them "Easy, Hunter. Let him talk shit, we know what's up-"

"Yeah, my foot up your ass!"

Manic backs up Knuckles "These guys might be something around here, but I doubt they'd last 10 seconds with anyone of us"

"Yeah, that's right. Come on, boys. Anytime"

As both sides argue, Amy turns around to face Sonic and hug him.

"Hey, Amy" He says "...I can see nothing's changed with them"

Both hedgehogs looks back at the Knuckles and Manic, now resorting to name calling in this argument. Sonic looks over and sees Tails kneeling down and staring blankly at the cave walls

"I need a second, Ames... try to keep them from tearing this place apart, please" Sonic says

The blue hedgehog walks over to the fox and puts his hand on Tails' shoulder

"It's alright. We know that wasn't your fault back there"

Tails looks up "...I'm feeling all kinds of guilt here, man"

"Well, we're still breathing, nobody else around here can say that after meeting Mongol. Just think of it that way"

Tails does his best to smile, then embraces his friend.

"It's good to see you, Sonic"

"You too, little brother"

As both groups continue to argue, an invisible hedgehog suddenly appears out of thin air.

"Holy crap, It's the Sonic Heroes!"

Everyone jumps away from the transparent young hedgehog. He is short, skinny, wears a long black hoodie with red designs sewn on the sleeves and matching black jeans.

"...you know us?" Knuckles asks

"Of course I do! You guys are awesome!"

Hunter looks at his friends, while everyone else turns to Sonic for an answer, but nobody is able to completely grasp what is happening.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: The Lookout**_

Sonic is the first to shake hands with the transparent hedgehog, who reiterates he's a big fan of the blue blur and his friends. He introduces himself as Trent, another enhanced civilian whose been wronged by Victor. He begins to tell his story, which slowly calms the tension between both sides in the process and allows them to settle down.

"...and after I got outta Victor's bullshit town, I came here to hide out. You know, I was kinda surprised that anybody could find the entrance, but seeing that only Sonic the hedgehog found it, I guess I shouldn't be" Trent says

The group talk amongst themselves quietly but Amy decides to be straight up with the young hedgehog

"Yeah, how is it that you know us, exactly?"

Trent walks over to a satellite conductor, opens the two small doors of a metal box and presses a power button on the front. Everyone watches a small television screen turn on and light up the dark cavern.

"What is that, a news station?" Tails asks

"Yes it is. Do they have TV on Mobius?"

"...they should be getting it soon"

Manic steps forward "So, wait - that's how you know us? Watching TV?"

"And the video games. They kinda went downhill, though.." Trent says as he shows a few games in his collection

Manic looks at his brother "Where the hell is my game?!"

"That's not important" Sonic says as he steps forward "...Trent, listen, my friends here need a ride out of The Nexus, things are only going to get worse-"

Amy looks at him "You're coming with us!"

Sonic turns away "I'm sorry but I can't leave, not yet"

"What? Why not?"

"...I made someone a promise I'd help them against Victor-"

"To hell with that, we came all this way out here to bring you home! We're not leaving without you - _I'm_ not leaving without you!"

As Amy and Sonic argue, Knuckles steps away from both groups and leans against one of the walls as he thinks to himself. Manic raises his phone to eye level and an old voice mail from Julie plays.

The tired Echidna listens to his girlfriend pleading for him to come home and be there when their child arrives. Message after message plays for him, and it inspires Knuckles to keep fighting.

"...she's been sending these all day, bro" Manic says

Knuckles turns to him "Not a word to the others, okay? I don't need them on my ass about this"

"You got it"

On the other side of the large interior, Trent notices Tails going through the electronic pieces inside the bag he'd taken back from Victor. The Fox appears visibly upset and curses to himself, so Trent comes over.

"What's up?"

Tails puts the pieces down "...I'm missing a few key items for this transportation device, Trent... this is our ride home"

"Do you know where they are?"

"They're inside Victor's stupid castle, but we just went through hell to escape that place, and now Mongol's outside!... nobody's getting in there without running into trouble..."

The transparent hedgehog smirks as he shows off his invisibility to The Fox

"How about I go, man. No way in hell they'll see me coming. I can get in and out of anywhere"

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want you getting hurt because of us, Trent"

"Hey, The Sonic Heroes need my help. You don't get a chance to help them everyday. I've got your back"

Tails grins at his new friend, then goes on to explain what the missing items are and how they look.

About half a mile from the cave entrance, Raul's soldiers put Maine on a gurney and travel back to the medical centre in Victor's metallic city. The android assistant Spaceman informs the robotized Eagle of Maine's condition, and where Mammoth Mongol is.

"...we believe Mongol has Sonic and his friends cornered inside the cave to the east, however he can't get in" Spaceman says

Victor finishes his drink and stands up "...let's go talk to him"

"You wish to enter the battlefield, sir?"

"Why not. It's been awhile since I got my hands dirty"

The Eagle orders his guards to bring him some armour and a few specialized weapons, including swords and firearms. With his arsenal readily available inside a metal crate, Victor leads a team of 40 guards down to the cave for an assault.

They meetup with Militia leader Raul and Guardian Velocita, both figuring out the right way to gain access to the massive cave.

"Gentlemen. I assume you have a plan of attack" Victor says

"Yeah, we blow a hole open so we can enter" Velocita says

"I like it. How are we doing this?"

Raul points over to a grimy section of the cave "We need to send someone in to plant the explosives without being detected, otherwise we'll be easily subdued by Sonic's friends and the enhanced renegades. I suggest Velocita and Spaceman go in, the android is clearly the fastest with these mobile devices, and Velocita is more than capable covering him"

Victor looks at his assistant, then nods in agreement

"...and Mongol?"

Raul laughs "He's been trying to smash a hole in the cave for a little while now, but it's not coming down. I say we send him in first once we gain entry. You know, take most of the fire"

The Eagle grins "I like that plan. Alright everyone, let's MOVE OUT!"

As Velocita and Spaceman pack their equipment bags and get ready to enter, Trent enables his invisibility cloaking and casually walks past the small army.

The Transparent hedgehog is conflicted on whether to stay and disrupt this war party, or to continue onwards to Victor's now unguarded castle.

_Tails would want me to play this smart_ Trent thinks, making up his mind on what to do.

He leaves Jambi country and sets off to steal back the remaining pieces of Tails' transportation device.

Velocita and Spaceman find an entrance and squeeze through a gap along the old stone wall of the cave, intent on planting their explosive charges and breaking into the hideout.

* * *

The party continues at Charmy's basement apartment well into the late hours of the night, and nobody in the neighbourhood caring in the slightest. Rouge took off earlier with some equipment Charmy passed on to her, but regardless, the private function goes on. Bark the Polar Bears hands out fresh beers to the guests, while Manic's friend B.B tells a funny story to the rest of the gang.

Loud and obnoxious rap music plays throughout the apartment, drowning out the annoyed bangs from Charmy's upstairs neighbours.

Outside, Thompson butts out a smoke and signals for his girlfriend to join him back inside when he suddenly bumps into a tall figure in a grey pin striped suit at the door.

"Whoa, didn't see you there, slick" Thompson says

"Do yourself a favor and get lost" The suit replies as he opens the door

"Uhh come again?"

Before the tall hedgehog can step forward, the mystery man pulls out a G.U.N badge and stops Thompson in his tracks.

"God damn police?!"

His girlfriend gets in between the two before things escalate

"Come on, baby, we're going home" Mickie says "...we dont need this heat, Tom"

She grabs his hands and pulls the tall hedgehog away, while the suit walks inside and heads downstairs.

"Alright, everyone, party's over, get outta here"

"Whoa, hey! What's this? We weren't even doin' anything!" B.B says

The suit flashes his badge once more "I said get out. All of you except Mr. Charmy Bee. We need to have a little chat, son"

Manic's mentor Farrell finishes his drink "Whatever, cop. Hey, everyone's welcome at my spot, the Four Star downtown. I got the room for the weekend, let's go"

B.B follows Farrell, Bark fills his bag with drinks from the fridge and Big the Cat picks up OMEGA's robot head from a nightstand on his way out. Everyone is gone and the music is shut off in 20 seconds.

Charmy spins around in his chair and clears his throat before he greets his guest.

"What can I do ya for, uh - is it Officer? Agent? Special Agent?"

"Warwick will do, boy" the suit says

"Gotcha... care for some cream soda? I just stocked up"

"I'm fine, thank you. Now Charmy, I understand you have a piece of technology on the property that was recently acquired from a G.U.N facility" Warwick begins "...and that a wanted fugitive gave you possession of these stolen items"

The Bee smirks "I don't have a clue what you're talking about"

Warwick laughs "Son, it's a federal crime to lie to a law enforcement officer. You wanna change that statement before I book you?"

"My best friends Vector and Espio were law enforcement officers and YOU locked them away! You're nothing but a chump! ...and besides, I haven't committed a crime so you don't have the right to arrest me, dickhead!"

The suit looks around Charmy's littered and condensed apartment "You are saying that no stolen property is being held here? You're really going for that?"

Charmy extends his hands "Look around if you want. Check. You won't find a damn thing here, except my massive game collection, maybe. Y'know, I'm training to be in pro Esports right now and I don't really have time for your interruptions, special agent. So do what you want, but trust me, I know my rights. If you violate them, it's game over for you"

"Is that a threat-"

"I don't know, do you _feel_ threatened?"

Warwick scoffs "...you sure have a way with words, boy"

"My roommates spent 10 years learning the law and all the legal loopholes imaginable. I practically grew up on courtroom dramas, pal. Try me"

The short standoff ends with Warwick calling his team to search not only Charmy's apartment, but the entire house he shares with his upstairs neighbours. When nothing of interest is found, Charmy sits back down on the gaming chair and cracks open a can of soda, keeping eye contact with the visibly pissed off Warwick standing at the door.

"So. Got what you came for?" Charmy asks sarcastically

"You're still on the persons of interest list so expect check-ins every now and again. And you'd better remember that if we find anything incriminating on you, I'll personally come back here to drag your sorry, crying ass to jail. Understand?"

The teenager chuckles "That one always gets me. Yeah, okay special agent. See ya next time!"

The suit exhales as he walks back upstairs, purposely forgetting to close the door. Charmy flies over, shuts the door and goes back to gaming, knowing Warwick is still outside trying his best to find anything suspicious.

The teenager reads a text message from Rouge

_**Is that cop gone?**_

_**-R**_

Charmy starts typing a response

_**Not yet. Can you hang onto it for a little while longer? My place is compromised.**_

_**-C**_

_**This thing won't stay a secret forever but I can keep it off the grid for now. TTYL.**_

_**-R**_

Charmy puts his phone down and sighs quietly. He never thought he would have to keep his friends' actions a secret from the police, but he also never thought his two best friends would ever get falsely imprisoned by the same police force.

The two things he wants more than anything right now, is for everything to go back to normal, and everyone to come back safe.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6: Doomed To Fall Short_**

The furious pounding against Trent's cavern hideout continues as Mammoth Mongol tries to break down the stone walls, having little success. Both groups have different plans in mind, however Penelope's patience with Sonic has worn thin, so she takes measures into her own hands.

Sonic is suddenly lifted off the ground by the female hedgehog's telekinesis

"You're the cause of all of this, Sonic, and I'm not gonna be torn apart by that beast for something you did!" Penelope shouts

Amy races with her hammer drawn "Let him go **NOW!**"

Penelope pushes her back, while Cam and Hunter keep Knuckles and Manic back

"STOP! Trent is coming back with the last piece of the device! Just wait!" Tails yells frantically

"Sorry kid, but there ain't no time left" Hunter responds, receiving a punch in the mouth for his efforts

Knuckles reaches over and strikes Cam next, while Manic sweeps the tall hedgehog's legs out from under him. The four roll around in the cave's puddles, fighting for control while Amy swings her hammer at Penelope in hopes of bringing Sonic back to the ground.

Manic stops fighting abruptly, sensing someone else has joined the group,

That someone being Victor's guardian Velocita.

"The dumb bastards are doing themselves in" The Chameleon says in his headset

"_Dumb bastards?_" Tails questions

"Hold 'em off til Spaceman sets off the charges!" Raul orders thru his com

The LED lights in Velocita's helmet turn red "My pleasure"

He jumps from his vantage point and joins the brawl, which forces Hunter and Cam to release Knuckles & Manic so they can focus on the bigger threat. All four surround the robotized Chameleon and charge at him with their best attacks, only to be either dodged or counter-struck by Velocita. He easily weaves in and out of range, while following up with punishing blows in return. At one point, there's an evil grin displayed on his LED helmet to show his enthusiasm.

Knuckles spits out blood before speaking "Yeah, let's go one at a time, fellas. That's really working out!..."

Tails hears a **_PING_** sound out from the SAGE program so he opens it and looks at the screen

"Guys, they're blowing this place open-"

Several large explosions rock the cave hideout, causing chunks of the stone walls to fly and the ground to shake uncontrollably. Knuckles is knocked backwards, bumping into Penelope and Sonic, Cam takes Velocita down with him and Hunter collides with Manic and Amy.

Mammoth Mongol walks through the thick clouds of dust and glares at everybody inside.

"_Two-Tails_" he growls in his baritone voice

The Fox is frozen stiff in fear as he makes eye contact with the beast once more.

Sonic breathes heavily as he's finally free from Penelope's telekinesis hold, and he stumbles to his feet

"You leave him alone, scruffy! It's me you want a fight with!" He calls out

Amy reaches out "Sonic, Wait!"

Mongol lifts his front leg up and stomps on the ground, instantly smashing through the now weakened rock foundation and creating a hole. Sonic, Knuckles and Penelope fall in and their screams quickly fade out as the debris follows them down.

"YOU BASTARD!" Amy shouts

Mongol's trunk knocks her backwards and he turns his attention to Tails. Manic jumps to his feet and uses as much of his Medallion's energy to attack the beast.

Mongol catches him in mid air and immediately throws him like a baseball. Manic flies through the giant hole Spaceman blew open with such force that he leaves the atmosphere and heads towards space.

The Green hedgehog flies by a small satalite and barely grabs the antenna, stopping him from completely going into orbit. His Jade Medallion works hard to keep him breathing for every second he spends in outer space. He needs to get back to solid ground immediately, but right now his options are limited.

"Oh god" Tails whimpers quietly

Victor leads his army inside the cave with his weapons drawn "Raul, get your soldiers and deal with the enhanced NOW!"

"Understood! Let's go!" Raul says to his men

The Robotized Eagle points at three more soldiers "You, you and you, get down to the lower levels and keep the others from resurfacing!"

"Yes, sir!"

Victor directs the remaining soldiers to surround the battlefield and patrol the outside, while keeping an eye on Amy.

Cam and Hunter are able to knock Mongol down to one knee, but they can't follow up once the soldiers reach them. They are hit with electric cattle prods strong enough to keep them down, but not kill them.

Victor smirks at Mongol and they nod at each other, mutually agreeing to stay out of each others' way.

The Eagle kicks Amy's War Hammer away and kneels down to restrain her.

"...your friends are dying in this cave, Amy Rose. But you won't, I promise you that. You're the best one of them, and I really like you. So, you don't have to worry about a thing"

She tries her best to break free but Victor's metal claws are too strong to pull away from. She watches in agony as Mongol wraps his trunk around Tails and smashes him against the stone walls, while Victor's army violently subdues everyone else.

Down below the surface of the cave, Sonic and Penelope groan in pain as they regain conciseness, while Knuckles is laid out far from them. The Blue hedgehog gets to his feet first and offers a hand, but Penelope ignores this and slowly gets back up on her own.

"...we have to get back up there or everyone's gonna die" Sonic says

Penelope sighs "This doesn't change a thing between us. I'll help you and your friends get out of The Nexus, and you don't ever come back"

"Yeah, I'm not too crazy about this place, anymore.."

Knuckles coughs as he finally wakes up, so Sonic rushes over to help him up but he's pushed away once again.

"Let's just get home, you blue asshole..."

"Fine with me. Come on"

The Echidna and Blue hedgehog follow Penelope's lead through the jagged foundation levels, hearing the shouts from the battle echo throughout. She looks for a spot to safely levitate all three back to the surface without having chunks of stone crushing them.

"There, move quickly!" She orders

Sonic and Penelope run to a small platform to lift off but Knuckles stops abruptly and looks down small passage to his left,

where he makes eye contact with Dane the Ox.

"And Justice For All" by Metallica plays through Trent's Satalite TV stand and echoes through the cave

"Hello, hero. Betcha didn't think we'd run into each other again"

Knuckles clinches his fists "...Actually, I was hoping I'd get one last chance to punch you out before I go home. Funny how things work out like that, wouldn't you say"

The Heavy Ox signals for his two friends to join him

"Well... I'd say you won't be enjoying yourself too much, this time. I got me two of the MEANEST sons of bitches in these parts, and they are dead set on serving you up to the boss"

Knuckles sizes them up and nods his head "Yeah. Okay, pal"

Lightning fast kicks fly out from the two guards, while Ox waits his turn to strike. Knuckles blocks a few, takes a couple on the chin and counter strikes them while keeping his eyes on Dane.

The Echidna is tripped up and falls, allowing all three to kick and stomp on him. He absorbs this as he gets back to his feet and suddenly knocks everyone back with spinning backfists. Dane runs behind his guards and lets them takeover the fight once more, which doesn't surprise Knuckles in the least.

Penelope and Sonic reach the surface but they are met by cattle prods. The female hedgehog goes down but Sonic is able to dodge them and head for Amy. Velocita tackles him out of the way and they begin to fight, while Mongol slams Tails down on a platform above the battlefield.

"You are going to get me out of The Nexus with your little device. And just me, you little runt!"

Tails cries out in pain as Mongol tightens his grip around his entire body, then he spots Trent entering the cave.

"Tails! I got the last piece!" The Transparent hedgehog calls out

The beast grins and looks down "Right on time. Assemble the device and send me back, and I will spare you"

Sonic kicks Velocita back and turns to face the beast "Tails, don't do it! We gotta keep him here!"

"Do you want your friends to die over this, Two-Tails?" Mongol asks

Something behind Mongol gets Tails' attention, then a bright light blinds everyone in the cave as it falls from the stars.

Manic screams in excitement as he soars back into the fight. He smashes Mongol with enough force to send him flying backwards, taking a fair amount of Victor's soldiers with him.

Manic's eyes glow Neon Green and the Medallion's energy forms an aura around his entire body.

"Hey guys, I think I just turned into a _super saiyan!_ Look at this shit, I'm a god damn walking light show-"

Victor fires a barrage of bullets at Manic, and they do nothing except change the tone in his voice

"That's my brother's girl you got there, flappy bird. You'd best get your nose-picking mitts off her before I get real mad"

"God damn you enhanced freaks! All of you! You're not natural beings, you're disgusting perversions! And I'm sick of being bullied by you!" Victor shouts as he stands up "...you destroy the only place I can call home and you wonder why I can't stand the sight of you! Well, listen here and now-"

Manic thrust kicks Victor across the battlefield and ends his speech for him.

Trent climbs up to the ledge Tails is on and helps him back to his feet, but the fox is clearly injured.

"...I can't stay here any longer, guys, I just wanna go home" Tails says as he limps

"Sounds like a good plan to me, let's go" Manic says

Sonic helps Amy up and she wraps her arms around him. They walk over to Tails and Manic, setting up the transportation device in the back corner.

Sonic leans over the hole in the ground "Hey, KNUCKLES! Get up here, we're leaving!"

"Just gimme a sec!"

The Echidna dodges a windmill kick, knocks out the first guard, ducks under an incoming punch and uppercuts the next guard, then catches Dane before he can run away.

"You shoulda stayed in your rat hole, fat boy"

Knuckles hits a lightning fast combination of body blows and ends off with a spinning backfist that knocks Dane's front teeth out.

The Ox goes down and Knuckles coughs up some blood before climbing a wall, until Penelope uses her telekinesis to lift him back to the surface.

"...thanks"

Cam and Hunter join Penelope at the ledge of the hole, wanting to make sure their '_guests_' make it home.

"You guys gonna be okay here without our help?" Sonic asks

"I think you've done more than enough..." Penelope responds

"We'll manage" Cam says

The Blue hedgehog nods, then everyone begins linking hands to form a connection with the device.

"Come on, Knux, move your injured ass! We're on the clock!" Manic calls out jokingly

The Echidna climbs up to the platform "Yeah, yeah, just keep talking..."

He gets up and grabs Amy and Manic's hands, completing the connection.

"Alright, T. Take us home"

Tails types in the commands and presses his thumb on the red button,

at the every same moment Velocita rips Knuckles off the platform and Mongol's trunk wraps around Manic's waist. There's no time to react, and everyone disappears in a flash.

Knuckles lands on the ground and pushes Velocita off him "...what the FUCK?"

Everyone else is as stunned as he is, but nobody says a word. He climbs up to the platform but there's only charred marks left from Tails' device.

"They fuckin' left me behind!"

Enraged, Knuckles jumps off, lands on Velocita and stomps on his helmet until the LED lights are broken. Victor picks up his gun and aims down at the Echidna but Penelope pushes him backwards before he can fire.

Eventually Knuckles stops attacking the Robotized Chameleon and falls back against the wall, utterly exhausted.

"...they left me.."


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7: Touch Down_**

Rouge the Bat stands inside a massive warehouse she uses as a storage unit, this time keeping the second piece of Tails' transportation device that Charmy gave to her at his party.

Her footsteps echo through the hollow interior as she makes her way across the concrete floor, hearing a loud beeping sound coming from the machine. She opens her phone to call Charmy, but there's no need as he walks through the front door, along with Agent Warwick.

Rouge looks back "Charmy? What're you-"

He sighs angrily "Ah, he tracked the receiver and found it..."

Rouge pulls out a concealed weapon and aims it at The Suit, so Warwick's team raise their assault rifles at her in return

"Come on, it's over, put your gun down, Rouge, don't embarrass yourself" Warwick says "...I mean it. Drop it"

She grudgingly puts her weapon on the ground, but stays near Tails' machine.

Warwick makes his way over, picks up the gun and gets a good look at the tall machine

"...I told the kid we'd find it, and look at that. Safe and sound with another one of Sonic's thief friends"

"This machine is better off in our hands than the governments, douchebag" Rouge says

"This machine is compromised of stolen G.U.N technology and unlawful possession of such equipment is a federal offence, which means you two are under arrest-"

Rouge jumps up to kick Warwick in the face, her boot heel striking his mouth and instantly draws blood as he falls down. Two officers detain Charmy, while the rest run over to subdue Rouge.

She flies around the warehouse to avoid the tasers, while counter attacking as she weaves in and out of their clutches. She races back toward the machine and presses a red button on the console, then proceeds to get tackled by Warwick's team.

"Arrest her! Hurry up!" Warwick orders as he gets back to his feet

A blinding flash of light gets everyone's attention and they freeze as Sonic, Tails, Amy, Manic and Mammoth Mongol appear on the platform of the transportation device.

"What the hell is that?!" Warwick shouts in disbelief

Sonic and his friends fall to the floor, all affected by motion sickness, but Mongol appears unfazed.

The metal walls and ceiling begin to stretch as the 22 foot tall Mammoth stands up. He roars angrily as he breaks the metal beams holding the structure together and kicks through the rest of the warehouse. He breathes in the cool night air and looks over the rest of Green Hill.

"...finally. Home"

Warwick pulls out his pistol "Whoa, whoa, HEY! Put your hands up, big guy! Don't move!"

Mongol looks down at The Suit, then sees Tails laid out a few feet away from him, so he decides to pay him back for what he did to Maine.

"Stop or we **WILL** shoot you!" Warwick orders

Mongol lifts up his leg and goes to stomp on the fox, so Warwick and his team open fire. Their bullets can't penetrate his thick fur coat, but they do cause some damage and hurt the beast, if only slightly. Mongol roars out and kicks at the officers, knocking a few backwards but they don't let up.

Warwick grabs his com and calls headquarters "Shots fired, we need backup at the compound on Grand and Third! Send everything you got!"

The dispatch officer acknowledges "Roger that, SWAT is on the way. What is the suspects' description?"

Mongol growls as he continues kicking at the officers

"...it's a 20 foot tall mammoth! He's got armour!"

"I didn't catch that, come again?"

"A fucking MAMMOTH! A mammoth with some kind of bullet proof armour! Bring all the artillery you got here, guns aren't cutting it!"

Mongol kicks at the ground and sends Warwick flying backwards until he crashes into a metal retaining wall. Within seconds, the entire town is woken up by blaring sirens and gunfire erupting. Residents look out their windows to see what is going on, while news stations scramble to cover the action. It takes only 2 minutes for SWAT teams and task forces to surround the compound and box in Mongol.

"Take these idiots to the best holding cells you got! We don't need them causing us any more problems than they already have!" Warwick orders as he gets back up

Rouge and Charmy are taken away by Warwick's men, while other officers take Sonic, Tails and Amy into custody.

"Wasn't there a forth one?" one officer asks

"Ah shit, he's long gone by now. Let's just haul these ones in"

Manic uses his Medallion's energy to race through town, careful to avoid being caught by the police. He reaches a hilltop near the edge of town and looks over the carnage Mongol has caused in the few short minutes he's been here.

The Green hedgehog decides to turn and run, trying to break his friends out of custody is a losing battle, even with all his enhancements. Right now, he needs a plan.

After 5 minutes of being shot at, Mongol decides to ditch the police as well, and get out of the city while he still can.

"...you little worms never learn. Your firearms are not the solution to every problem..."

Mongol takes off in a sprint through the downtown streets, clearing a path as he kicks up police cars and asphalt along the way. Helicopters shine spotlights on the behemoth as he stomps through town, trying not to lose sight of him.

Mongol leaps 30 foot gaps efficiently and soon he's left Green Hill, and the cops, behind.

Warwick grasps his ribs and leans against a police cruiser "...you tell those choppers to stay on his ass, don't lose track of him!... We're gonna need ALL divisions of G.U.N for this one. And I wanna talk to Sonic, first. See what he's got to say..."

* * *

The cave is completely silent as everyone tries to make sense of what just happened. Knuckles is the first back to his feet, doing his best to keep all of his emotions to himself, but this whole trip's been a little rough for him. Cam, Hunter and Penelope join the Echidna in shared silence.

Trent walks to him "M-maybe they'll come back for you, Knux"

The Echidna exhales "...I'd really like to believe that, kid, I really would.. FUCK! I hate this shit!..."

"Funny, I feel the exact same way about you..."

Knuckles, Trent and the others look down towards the giant hole Mongol left, watching as Victor is helped to his feet by Spaceman. They are backed up by Raul and his men, outnumbering the enhanced group 30 to 5.

"...the whole time you've been here, there's been nothing but chaos. Anarchy. You, Knuckles, and your friends... I'm the one who runs this place! I rule The Nexus!... I decide if you walk outta here or not"

Knuckles rips off pieces of his torn long sleeve shirt and wraps his bloody fists with it before facing off with Victor.

"Let's go, I've been waiting to slap the bird shit out of your mouth, Vic"

The Eagle shakes his head "You're outnumbered and you ain't got any backup left. I say you won't last one minute"

Penelope steps forward "I wouldn't be so sure about that"

Cam and Trent stand next to her "...you're done playing king, Victor. You were never anything without Mongol backing you up, and I bet your men are re-thinking which side they're going to stand behind after seeing what a coward you are"

The Robotized Eagle chuckles "Yeah, right! Everyone in here knows damn well which side is the winning one, but please, try and turn my men against me. See how that works out"

Nobody says a word, so Victor gestures for his men to attack.

And he gets another long silence as a response.

"This means go attack that freak show over there!"

Raul and the rest of his army slowly turn and face Victor, angering the Eagle.

"Oh, what? You're actually listening to these dipshits?! You don't wanna mess up the arrangement we've got, you idiots! I _AM_ The Nexus! Hey!"

Victor is overpowered by Raul's men and his screams are drowned out by the dozens of other voices shouting some rather unsettling things to the eagle. He is beaten by the army and tossed back down in the giant hole to join Dane, as well as Spaceman and Velocita.

Knuckles exhales and turns to his new allies "...so, we won? Does that make you guys the kings or something?"

Cam looks at his friends, who nod in agreement

"It wasn't ever about being king, Knuckles. We just didn't want that asshole in power anymore. And now, he doesn't rule shit"

The Echidna remembers Victor took his stuff from him and his friends, so he races out of the cave in a hurry

"Where are you going now?" Trent asks

Knuckles looks back "I'm taking my shit back and seeing what else Vic's got inside that castle!"

With nothing else left to do, Cam, Penelope, Hunter and Trent follow Knuckles back to the castle. They walk through the front gates without having to worry about getting shot, and they split up in different directions to explore the courtyard.

Knuckles enters the vault room and begins rummaging through the dozens of crates inside. He finds his cellphone next to Amy and Tails' phones and immediate calls Manic.

"Come on, pick up, you little shit..." Knuckles says as he waits for an answer

After 6 dial tones, The Green hedgehog finally answers "Knucklehead? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me! You guys left me on this shit hole planet!"

"Well, actually it's a satalite and you got split up from us-"

"I don't give a fuck! You have to do something to get me home!"

"Relax man, I'm working things out as we speak"

Knuckles hears gunfire in the background "The hell is going on over there?"

Manic laughs dismissively "...yeah, shit got complicated once we touched down, Knux. Mongol hitched a ride with us, the cops started blasting everywhere and they took everyone into custody-"

"Except you. 'Cause you ran"

"I had to! Do you know how much heat I've got right now?! Dude, I might as well be _The Zodiac!_ They catch me and I ain't never seeing daylight again!"

Knuckles sighs "...what can you do right now?"

"Well, I'm keeping my distance from Green Hill but not too far... I've got some friends who can help, but right now I'm fucked for options"

"Yeah, same here... wait a second - _**Silver!**_ He can bring me back!"

Manic pauses to think "...that weird dude with the weed leaf haircut?"

"Yes, him! He can teleport my ass back home AND toss Mongol in a black hole on the same trip!"

"Alright, cool, so how do I get a hold of him?"

Knuckles thinks for a moment "...Shadow, he would know"

"Who?"

"You don't know Shadow? Didn't you meet him a couple months back?"

"I don't know shit, man. A couple months back, I got erased from history, now I'm traveling to space, fighting androids and shit - I've lost track of what the hells' going on!"

"...that girl, Starr"

"What about her?"

"She was with him last, she'll know where Shadow is"

"Okay, slow down a minute" Manic says "...you want me to find the girl who almost killed me, so I can get some Shadow guy to call that Silver dude?"

"No, I don't _want_ you to do that, but right now we don't have any choice! Even if they can't bring me back, they have to stop Mongol! ...Manic, this guy could end the world, so I need you to do this! Come on!"

The Green Hedgehog looks up to the night sky and watches helicopters explode as they pursue the behemoth. The array of military vehicles don't do a thing to stop or even slow Mongol down, making everyone lose hope that they can stop the beast.

"...alright, Knux. I'm on it"


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: A World Ending Problem**_

11 Miles outside the city, Mongol continues leaping through the country side and swatting away any helicopters that follow him. He's still got a sizeable lead on them, but he knows the forces will try to cut off all routes ahead. He crosses large fields and enters a valley comprised of mostly steep grass hills, gaining him some height over the horizon. He looks back and sees the back roads illuminate blue and red, indicating the police aren't far behind.

Mongol looks to the sky and a flashing white light gets his attention, so he quickly climbs up a mountain side and jumps up to get a better look,

that's when he realizes an Eggman Fleet Ship has spotted him.

The massive helicarrier is cloaked in the clouds, making it seemingly invisible, but no weapons fire at the beast. Mongol decides to jump aboard and take his chances up here rather than with his pursuers on the ground. The air ship tilts under his weight once he lands, but it stays airborne.

The 20 foot tall Mammoth kneels down to catch his breath while Eggman's machines scan and analyze him.

Eggman appears on a flatscreen TV "So, you ARE Mammoth Mongol! Magnificent!"

Mongol looks up "...who are you? How do you know me?"

The evil doctor grins "My name is Doctor Eggman, and I'm actually a huge fan!"

"_Fan?_"

"Oh yes, I read about you and what you did, Mr. Mongol. They said you were over 100 years old, is that true? Hey, maybe you've heard of my grandfather, Ivo-"

"Enough of your useless rambling!" Mongol shouts "Come face me if you have real questions"

Eggman chuckles dismissively "...I would but-"

The camera zooms out to reveal the doctor sitting in a computer room, ankle monitor blinking green.

"...the rats in charge of this miserable planet have decided to keep me alive to be _their_ lab rat, as opposed to just ending it. Because they know that they need me"

Mongol puts his guard down "What for?"

"Because I'm the smartest man on Mobius! All their armed drones and energy weapons? Energy-based cities? That's all me! This world is more technologically advanced than Earth solely because of me and what I can do!... they're not just gonna throw that away, Mr. Mongol, so they keep me alive and force me to build the future for them. That's definitely not where I thought my work in science would take me..."

"How do you control these machines if you are imprisoned?"

"Ah, these guys let me use the computer for one hour a day, and I have to use secured communication lines to access my equipment without alerting anyone"

Mongol looks over at the horizon at the neon-lit cities and highway roads that connect them. He stares in disbelief that the world he grew up in doesn't resemble what it used to, and this angers him.

"This world is not right, Eggman. These cretins are destroying it with their 'advancements', I can see that clear as day. And what they do to you, imprisoning you against your will - this is not how my race should act, Doctor-"

"Yeah well, these are the cards they've delt. And I have to live with that"

Mongol stands up "You will not... I've been away so long, I haven't had a chance to see what they've done to my home. They need to be stopped before they damn this planet to hell. And I will see that you walk free, Doctor. That is a promise"

Eggman's eyes light up with evil intension "You would do that, even for a failure like me?"

"Those bastards down there are the ones who will fail. You have done no wrong in my eyes"

The doctor grins with genuine happiness for the first time in years. He has just secured a powerful new ally,

and a way out.

"...aid me here and now, Eggman, and you will never have to live like a rat ever again"

"How could I refuse that offer"

"...I'm taking my home back"

The doctor begins typing furiously to control the machines on his air ship, while Mongol clinches his massive fists and gets ready for the battle.

* * *

It takes 10 minutes for Manic to reach Sonia's Metropolis property and he immediately runs into a small army of guards as he pushes open the front gate.

"I don't have time to play, gentlemen, I gotta talk to Sonia right away!" Manic calls out

"She expecting you?"

"Nope and I damn sure don't need your permission to see my sister"

His body glows jade green as he rushes through the crowd and straight inside the mansion. Manic is stopped as even more guards aim their assault rifles over the gold railings, making it clear they will shoot.

Sonia walks down the red carpeted staircase "It's alright, fellas, this is my brother"

The guards put their weapons down but keep their eyes trained on Manic as Sonia makes her way down to him.

"Manny, I didn't expect to see you so soon. Thanks for upholding your end of Warwick's deal, by the way, those were some fun conversations we had"

"Yeah well, prison ain't my thing, sis. Look, Knuckles told me you can get ahold of Starr so I came here-"

"You didn't come here for some kinda revenge thing, did you? Manic, I will not be apart of anymore of your shit! You've already done enough damage during your last escapade with that Miles Prower kid and I'm still trying to clean up that mess!"

The guards raise their weapons once more

"What? No, if you let me finish-"

Sonia lets her frustration out "You stole mine and Sonic's Medallions, then you cause millions in property damage to a business you knew belonged to me!"

Manic backs up as she steps toward him "To be fair, I fucked up a lot of places this year-"

"Then you drag a 16 year old kid into some shit show that almost got dozens of refugees killed! I had to take full responsibility for that because you cut a deal - and you just ran off on that, anyway!"

Manic's fist suddenly illuminates "LISTEN HERE-"

A guard fires a bullet into Manic's left thigh, causing him to fall to one knee and drop his Jade Medallion

Sonia looks up "Stop shooting!"

"He's a threat" the guard responds

Manic groans quietly as he puts pressure on the wound "Sonia, I'm gonna rip that asshole's arm off and feed it to him-"

"I'd like to see you try"

Manic jumps up but Sonia keeps him back "Put your guns down, that's an order!"

The guards reluctantly lower their guns as their boss' request, but Manic is still seething. He picks up his Medallion to heal the wound, but the pain doesn't go away.

"Manic, why do you need Starr?"

"If you would've let me finish, I would've said I need her friend Shadow to call somebody! But hey, let's just shoot the green guy, right? That sounds like more fun..."

"Shadow? What does he have to do with this?" Sonia asks

"Oh, for fuck sake - **I NEED HIM TO CALL SILVER!** Knuckles is stuck in space and weed man can bring him back!"

"Are you serious? Knuckles' girlfriend is about to give birth to their child, he needs to come back NOW!"

"Why the fuck do you think I raced out here for? Now please, call Starr and tell her what I just said to you"

She tries to help him up but Manic pushes her hands away and stands up by himself, glaring at the guards on the stairs as he limps towards her kitchen. He helps himself to some expensive wine in the fridge while Sonia finishes her call and pulls a stool up next to her brother.

"You know, there's glasses in the cupboard"

Manic drinks half the bottle in one gulp and looks at her "...yeah, I see that"

Sonia sighs before speaking "Look, Manny, I'm sorry. I just thought you'd have grown up since the last time we saw each other. You can't just say fuck the world and do whatever you want. There's a reason guys like Warwick are so hard on you. Look what happened to between me and Knuckles last time! ..that's why I don't put myself out there, anymore. You need to be better"

"Yep, I know. You're right, sis. That's why I think it's better for everyone if I just go. Go, and never bother coming back ever again under any circumstances. Maybe if I don't have friends to try and win over, I just might mature. This is has been a very spiritual conversation for me"

"I'm being serious, Manic-"

He puts the bottle down "So am I, Sonia! This whole time I've come up with reasons to get my friends involved with every bad decision I've made up til this point, and I think it's time to move on. Just leave. It might open my eyes, y'know?... starting over"

Sonia takes a drink from the bottle before quickly leaving to grab her touchscreen tablet

"...you know you can always come back here, Manny, but I know you're dead set on leaving, so here-"

Manic watches as she wire transfers a lump sum of money from her bank account into his, a loud _PING_ from his phone confirms the transaction.

"Sonia, I can't take this-"

"Yes, you can. I should've given it to you a long time ago"

"I never wanted your money-"

"When they split the three of us up, I grew up in a rich foster home, while you had nothing. And when we finally found each other again, I treated you like shit solely because of our backgrounds. And I am so sorry Manic-"

Sonia wipes the tears from her eyes so Manic grabs a tissue box for her

"It was never about money, or who had what. I just wanted a family, and I got that. You and Sonic are everything I wanted and needed. I love you guys, and I know I can always protect you in this world" Manic says

Sonia embraces the green hedgehog for a quick hug, then Manic stands up

"...but given the current circumstances, being wanted and all, I need to go as soon as this deal with Mongol is over"

"Manic, you don't need to leave if you don't want to-"

"I've had the pleasure of speaking with Agent Warwick, and it don't seem like saving the world is enough to pardon all the bullshit I've pulled. So, it's curtains for me, sis. Time to grow up"

Bright flashes from the clouds get Manic and Sonia's attention, so the green hedgehog laces up his running shoes and puts the Medallion around his neck before heading out.

"Manny, I - I would help you if I uh..."

He grins "It's all good, Sonia. You know I got it. I was made for this! ...and it's time for the final act"

Sonia watches her brother illuminate her kitchen Jade Green and race out the door for likely the last time. She knew the world was going to change after the coming conflict was settled, and Manic will play a big part of that change. The only question she had left was if she was going to sit back when it came time to act.

* * *

Amy Rose opens her eyes and groans angrily when she realizes she is sitting at a large metal desk with her hands cuffed to the desktop.

"Come on, I just went through this!" She shouts

Sonic wakes up sitting in a chair next to her, and Tails beside him. The bright florescent lights above them shine off the two-way mirror, telling the trio they are inside an interrogation room.

"Tails, wake up! We're in trouble" Sonic says

The Fox lifts his head off the desk "Huh? Trouble? Hey, they cuffed us again! Wait, that was on The Nexus - **KNUCKLES!** We gotta go back for him!"

Agent Warwick walks through the door "No chance in hell you three are ever going back there again"

"Hey, smartass, there's a big scary monster outside, how about you cut us loose and stay out of the way while we save the world" Amy says

The Suit laughs "Right, let me get right on that. We just have to have a little chat first"

Amy notices Warwick has a black eye and cut lip

"You're not looking so hot-"

"That's because the bullet proof mammoth you brought back almost killed me"

"It's not like we asked him to come along" Tails says

"Yeah well, he's here because of your idiotic decision to steal our transportation device" Warwick responds

This comment enrages Amy "Idiotic? We brought the world's best defender back home!"

"And also doomed us at the same time so good job"

Sonic squints as he reads Warwick's nametag "G.U.N agent, huh? Aren't you guys supposed to help in crisis, not make things worse?"

"I could say the same for you and your friends here"

"Look, super douche, we're the only ones who can stop Mongol, now are you gonna let us stop him or not?"

"Of course. I'll let you stop the bad guy and go about the rest of your lives without consequences. Because that's what you do, right? You save the world, you might get some innocent folks killed, maybe destroy their homes, but you don't have to live with that, because you saved the day and that makes it all better. Sounds like quite the life you heroes got"

"What do you mean by that?" Amy asks

"I mean the worlds' had enough of your shit. We're not sacrificing anymore lives so the Sonic Heroes can be rockstars. What I'm saying is you three will defeat this monster, and then that's it. Your retired. Thanks for your service, you are relieved"

Tails looks up "Whoa, what? Retired?"

"Would you prefer disbanded, little guy? Actually, that does sound better" Warwick says

"Yeah, it'll sound even better the next time you need us and we're not allowed to help" Sonic replies sarcastically

"My kids love you, Sonic. I used to tell them about how you saved this town and didn't break a sweat. That we didn't need to worry with you around. Then the casualties started to rise. And the phone calls from grieving mothers came in. And the public begging and pleading for the help we just can't give all the time..."

Amy and Tails look down, while Sonic's eyes flutter momentarily before meeting Warwick's gaze

"...now my kids have grown up and ask why Sonic isn't here to help us, and I say I don't know but the police are here so it'll be okay. But they just don't believe that. It has to be a hero who does it. It's gotta be you"

Nobody says a word, so Warwick clears his throat and moves on

"I bet that's one hell of a gut punch, eh. You're declared dead, your friends beat up some wannabe syndicate and call themselves nobodies on TV, all of a sudden you're back and everyone's depending on you to save the world again. You really are a rockstar, blue boy"

"Unlock these cuffs and let me do my job" Sonic says "I'll show you what I am, cop"

Warwick laughs and signals for an assistant to bring in the handcuff keys.

Another staff member brings in Amy's War Hammer and Tails' SAGE program

"I'm sure you don't need these, but they are your property"

"Oh wow, you did something nice for once" Amy says

"I'm nice when I want to be. You get your stuff back, we get ours. That's the deal"

"Is that the only part?" Tails asks

"You already know the other part"

Sonic stretches out "...right. We'll make plans for our retirement as soon as we're done"

"That's all I want"

The Blue hedgehog leaves the interrogation room first and is quickly joined by Amy and Tails in the hallway.

She leans over to whisper "Do you trust these guys to keep their end of the bargain or do ya think we're going in a cage?"

"After everything that's happened these past two years, I'll be happy to be anywhere with you"

Amy is surprised when Sonic pulls her in for a kiss, something she's waited a long, long time for.

The entire police department claps and cheers for the couple, while Tails checks his A.I program as he smiles, containing his happiness for his best friends for the moment.

"...Mongol's heading towards the city on one of Eggman's helicarriers, and it looks like Manic is going to meet him halfway"

As much as Amy wants it to last, she ends the kiss and follows her boyfriend to the front doors.

"Alright, let's put this bad guy to bed and be done with this nightmare. I've had enough of the rockstar life"

* * *

Trent and Cam bring more crates from Victor's vault up to the massive boardroom Knuckles stood in just hours prior. The Echidna has been going through the weapons and armour Victor had in his collection, seeing as there is nothing else to do. He wears a crown, chainmail armour and metal knight boots.

He tries on a gauntlet but doesn't look too pleased

"Ah, this things too big for my hand. Away with this junk!"

Cam looks at Hunter, then back to Knuckles "I hope you're not expecting us to be your servants or anything"

"I expect my loyal subjects to follow your king's commands!"

Penelope chuckles "I like you, Knux, but you're not our king"

"Nonsense! The king will not stand for your insolence!"

Hunter shakes his head "Oh gee, here comes another epic reign, everyone..."

"I abolish the use of sarcasm as my first act as ruler of The Nexus"

Trent becomes confused "_Abolish?_"

"It's a fancy word, kid, didn't they teach you that in school?" Cam asks

"...what the hell is a school?"

Cam palmfaces while Penelope and Hunter look away

"So this is the newest member of the team... maybe King Knuckles isn't the worst part of the aftermath"

Hunter heads towards the exit but Knuckles passes his cellphone to him and he stands with Cam, Trent and Penelope

"Hey, take a picture of me taking my rightful place as your king, I wanna send this to my friends back home"

"Okay, everybody look at the camera and say _Shoot Me Please_"

Knuckles raises his sceptre and puts his hand on Trent's shoulder, while Cam and Penelope decide to just go along with it.

Hunter snaps the photos quickly "I got you a couple good ones. Hope you're happy, _sire_"

Knuckles catches his phone "Well, everybody back home will be when I send these. Give 'em a good laugh. (sigh) At least I looked somewhat important once in my life, even if it's not for real..."

"This just got depressing. I'm going out for some air but please, keep playing king, it amuses me"

Knuckles puts down the sceptre and takes off the crown on his way to Victor's throne, accepting that he might be stuck here forever. Penelope senses the echidna wants to be alone, so she signals for her friends to leave the boardroom.

Trent goes to give some kind of support to Knuckles, but Cam grabs his arm and shakes his head as they exit the room.

"Classical Thump" by Victor Wooten plays on Knuckles' phone, indicating Manic is calling him

"Hello Manic..."

"I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time, but I just heard back from Shadow: Silver is on his way to pick you up right now"

The Echidna's eyes light up "For real?!"

"100 percent, my good sir. But we still gotta wreck Mongol so make sure to wear your best suit, your homecoming is will be a bloody affair"

Knuckles looks over at the weapons and armour crate

"Oh, I've got something in mind"

He hangs up and grins

"Loyal Subjects!"

One by one the enhanced group walks back into the boardroom for Knuckles' conference

"It is with great sadness that I must inform you of my departure, but your king is needed on home soil"

"Oh no"

"What a shocker.."

"We hardly knew you"

"They've truly taken away everything"

"Yes, yes, it breaks my damn heart as much as it does for you. But, I need your help for one last inquest"

"Okay, now you're just putting random words together, Knux" Hunter says

Knuckles kicks over a few large crates "...which of these weapons would you use to kill a monster?"

The group search through the equipment while Knuckles puts on proper battle armour.

Cam finds a pair of what look like regular red&black gloves, then discovers 4 silver titanium ballpoint attachments on the fists. Penelope passes wrist gauntlets, shoulder armour and matching armoured chest plates. Trent gives him a small shield which doesn't do anything his body armour couldn't do, but he accepts it and gives a friendly bump to his arm. His innocent nature reminds Knuckles of Tails, and it's the reason he's tolerated him for the entire time he's been in The Nexus.

"Here, your highness" Hunter says

The tall hedgehog reaches into his bag and gives Knuckles a sharpened piece of Mongol's tusk they smashed during the first encounter.

"If this doesn't do any damage, then I'll hang it up. You know, as a reminder of this place, and you guys" Knuckles says

Hunter grins and shakes his former kings' hand, and the others do the same.

A vortex appears above the group and Silver the Hedgehog looks around

"Knuckles! Let's move, time accelerates faster here so we can't waste a second! Come on!"

"Alright, I'm coming! ...goodbye, Nexus friends"

Knuckles gets a running start and jumps up to grab Silver's hand, then they disappear inside the vortex as it closes.

Trent looks up at the ceiling "They were nice"

"I still say we'd kick their asses in a real fight. Oh well" Hunter says

* * *

Manic climbs to the top of a hill that Mongol passed by, and he spots the flashing lights on Eggman's Fleet ship. He fires a neon blast upwards to get their attention, and it starts to descend from the clouds.

"Alright, got an invisible helicarrier coming down here, I really hope the guys aren't making me do this alone. I mean, I could do it by myself, but it'd be a lot easier with them... (exhale) you got this. Let's end the show with a banger"

Manic is too busy hyping himself up for the battle that he doesn't hear Sonic, Tails and Amy approach him behind.

"Nice pep talk, dude" Sonic says, making his brother jump "Got me real inspired"

"Jesus, you scared me! ...I see you've gotten yourself all settled in and up to date with the situation"

"Another bad guy, another fight. What else is new"

The brothers fist bump each other and everyone looks up at the night sky once more. Mongol's massive silhouette only gets bigger as the air ship comes closer to the ground.

"...so this guy's supposed to be the end of the world, huh. He certainly looks like it, right now" Manic says

"Well, luckily we are rockstars" Amy replies

"What?"

"It's what Agent Warwick called us" Tails answers

"Oh, Warwick? Yeah, he's a prick. But, he does get shit done, so he's good at his job, I guess"

Sonic scoffs "That's why he's sitting back and letting us fight off the apocalypse"

"But remember, this is our retirement party, and then it becomes his _full time_ job"

Manic looks over "Okay, what now?"

"We're being disbanded once we finish up here"

"So he's talking about rockstars and retirement parties? Man, I'm glad I missed his little conference call" Manic says

A loud _**BOOM**_ makes everyone cover their ears as the sound waves shake the ground

"_I am taking this world back from you insignificant rodents before you poison it beyond salvation_"

Manic looks up "Was that Mongol? I have a feeling that was him, I just can't hear anything clearly at the moment..."

"_You are all unworthy to lead this planet, so I will rid it of your filth and restore Mobius_"

Manic looks up "Ah yeah? Restore it to what, exactly?"

"_...to what it was before your advancements_"

The SAGE program starts beeping so Tails looks at the screen and his eyes widen

"Guys, he's got Eggman's army flying in"

The cloaked air ships become visible as they descend through the clouds, each ship carrying roughly 200 androids on board.

"...so, that's why G.U.N couldn't find all of the fat man's gadgets. They were hidden in the sky" Manic says

"I'm not feeling so great about these odds..." Tails says "1000 is a lot more than 4"

Sonic exhales "Slim chance we're making it through this one"

Amy looks at him "That's what Silver said when I told him I was going to bring you home from The Nexus, and we made it. We can beat this, too"

Sonic nods at his girlfriend, then Manic's body glows with the Neon Green aura as he gets ready

"I know Knuckles is on his way, but you guys wouldn't happen to have some of your super pals on speed dial, would ya?" Manic asks

"Our phones got taken by Victor's guards so that would be a no"

"Alright, well... it was worth a shot. Wish me luck"

"What?"

"Manic, wait!"

The Green hedgehog jumps up to Mongol's ship and he throws the first punch, so Sonic and Amy grab Tails' forearms and he flies them up to join the fight

"Lets give 'em hell, rockstars"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9: The Beginning Of The End**_

Mongol blocks as many of Manic's strikes but the glowing hedgehog is much faster, and he is eventually knocked on his back from the barrage. Manic jumps up and stomps on the beast, while Eggman looks on from the floating TV.

"I need you to buy me some time while I get the cannon fired up" Eggman says while typing on a computer "Climb up to the 4th Helicarrier, I've got some reinforcements up there"

Mongol's head bounces off the air ship's steel grates "Augh!... I do not need any help to beat these - _little bastards!_"

Manic soccer kicks the beast in the face "Well, this little bastard is kicking your sorry ass up and down this ship, so I don't know, pal, maybe you should! You definitely need it!"

Eggman shrugs "I would take the help if I were you"

Mongol roars as he knocks Manic back and gets to his feet. The beast jumps off the first air ship and reaches the second, while Manic smashes machine gun turrets as he follows.

Sonic, Amy and Tails land on the first ship and look up as Eggman's android army is activated. Each has a jet pack so the bots begin to fly around the sky, aiming their weapons at the trio.

Sonic jumps up to perform a homing attack on the closest bot, disengaging it instantly.

"Everyone split up and hit them with everything you got!" Sonic shouts

Amy swings her hammer wildly as she runs around the air ship, while Sonic zooms through the sky destroying bot after bot.

Tails' SAGE program notifies him there is an access point that can be hacked, so he runs to the haul of the ship. He plugs the A.I into a console and begins typing on a keyboard, while the floating TV swivels toward the fox.

Eggman appears on screen "Whatever you're trying to do, it won't work. My encrypted security system is far too advanced for anyone to access"

"Yeah, so I've heard..." Tails replies while typing

"You can't beat the beast, Prower, no matter who or what you have-"

"Manic's doing a pretty good job so far"

"He's toying with you. I scanned him on this ship and trust me, he's unbeatable once you set him off, then he becomes unkillable. With or without me, Mongol will win"

Tails presses the enter key and he gains control of Eggman's first fleet ship.

"...it looks like it'll be without you, doc. I got you and Manic's got Mongol"

"How the hell did you do that?!"

"You're outdated, old man. You think you're the one whose building the future, but clearly you're not as smart as you think you are"

Tails begins to steer the ship away from Metropolis and towards a more secluded area, and every other fleet ship follows. Eggman growls as he types on his keyboard, trying to find other ways to stop Tails.

Manic easily leaps 20 feet up to the next helicarrier as he gives chase. Mongol jumps through the night sky and as he lands on the 4th ship, a _**GAMMA**_ bot is activated. It's red eyes target the green hedgehog and opens fire, forcing Manic to dive out of the way. He performs acrobatic evasion techniques to avoid being shot, but he can't avoid getting punched by the beast. He bounces off the haul of the ship and drops his Medallion, his only protection from Mongol.

"You can't jump around forever, boy. This is what happens when you get stopped-"

A magenta aura surrounds Mongol before he can finish off Manic, causing both to look around for the source. Starr, the enhanced female hedgehog Manic once called a friend, uses her abilities to subdue Mongol, if only momentarily.

"Why don't you piss off, you big fat prick" Starr says as she pushes the beast away from Manic

"...I would say I'm glad to see you, but the last time we met, you tried to evaporate me" Manic says, picking up his Medallion and getting to his feet "What changed?"

"Your sister bailed me out when nobody else could, and we needed something to do"

"We? Whose we?"

Starr grins as Android Shadow hops aboard the helicarrier, firing energy blasts from his chaos emerald in one hand and a machine gun in the other.

"So you're him, eh. Shadow"

"I'm not the true Shadow, just an android. I'm trying to save him"

"Well, I don't think you'll find him here-"

"I know, but I will find Jonathan here"

Manic looks at him "Who in the blue hell is Jonathan?"

"Knuckles"

Manic, Starr and Shadow evade Mongol's punches and counter strike the beast three times, forcing him to retreat once more. They jump to the next helicarrier to stop him, noticing G.U.N crews on the ground fighting Eggman's bots.

"Wait, you're telling me Knuckles' real name is Jonathan? Am I hearing that right?" Manic asks

"That's the name the government gave him, yes"

Manic laughs "John fucking Knuckles, that's funny"

As the trio land on the 5th air ship, large blast doors open up and 10 other Android Shadow clones are activated. Eggman types on his keyboard and each clone targets Manic.

Shadow stands in front of him "Stay on the beast, Manic"

"What about you?"

"I'll cover you"

Manic nods and continues to chase Mongol to the next helicarrier, meanwhile Shadow opens fire on the clones. Starr joins him in fighting the other android Shadow's, blasting them with her magenta energy. A few are destroyed from their attack, but two more clones run through the energy rays and disarm Shadow, forcing him to engage them hand-to-hand. He smashes the first clone, but three more jump on him, taking him to the ground. Starr does her best to stop them but there is just too many androids to handle,

until Rouge and Charmy join the fight and disengage the clones.

"Who are you?" Starr asks

"I'm the only one who knows how to hit the power switch on these assholes" Rouge says "It's at the base of their necks behind the head. You gotta press that as hard as you can"

The Bat demonstrates this by shoving a screwdriver on the back of an androids neck, which instantly cuts the power to the machine.

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be that easy" Starr says as she disengages an android

"...Eggman built a fail-safe in these things and thought nobody else knew about it. But I found out, that's kinda my thing"

Charmy flies past the girls with a big smile "Yeah, she gets into places you shouldn't be able to reach, and sometimes I help"

A loud engine roars out on the last helicarrier, indicating Eggman has activated a new android. Sonic, Amy and Tails look up and watch _**Metal Sonic**_ step through the blast doors and look down at them.

"...that's not good" Charmy says

Manic clinches his fists "Okay, so this new guy wants to go, no problem"

A Metallic blue blur follows Metal Sonic as it jumps down to face Manic on the helicarrier he's standing on. The Machine is much faster than him and attacks Manic with lightning fast punches and kicks. His head is bounced around and he's knocked back with a side thrust kick, causing him to smash through the haul of the air ship.

"...okay, you're pretty good" Manic admits "...let's go again"

Metal Sonic is blindsided by the original Sonic, knocking the metallic machine away from his brother.

Manic stands up "This is your clone, I assume"

"Yeah, but this ones a little more advanced" Sonic replies "...he's _faster_"

"Faster than you? Shit, that don't matter, we'll take him on, anyway!"

Metal Sonic lunges forward to strike, so the brothers dodge and counter strike. Blue and Green flashes of light surround the Metallic blue blur and soon Metal Sonic is overpowered.

Mongol sees this and decides to aid the machine by throwing metal crates at Sonic and Manic, forcing them to watch both sides of the helicarrier for incoming attacks. Manic keeps Metal Sonic back while Sonic gets Mongol's attention, zooming around the air ship.

Finally, the beast abandons this tactic and chooses to run at Manic. The green hedgehog catches Mongol's fist before it makes contact with him, and he's slowly pushed towards the ledge of the air ship.

Manic looks over the edge, it's a 500 foot drop to the ground if he's thrown off.

Sonic tries to help his brother but Metal Sonic keeps him preoccupied,

until Amy finally reaches the fight.

"Get off of him!" Amy shouts

She smashes Metal Sonic with her hammer and knocks the machine backwards. She and Sonic stand side by side ready to attack the clone.

Manic's Medallion once again works hard to give him the strength to hold off Mongol, but the beast is too strong, even with the enhancement.

"Will your magic help you survive that plummet?" Mongol asks

Manic strains as he is slowly forced off the air ship's ledge, now clinging onto Mongol's wrist as his feet dangle.

The familiar light of Silver's vortex appears just 15 above Mongol, and Knuckles dives through the sky. He punches the beast directly in the face and the titanium ballpoint gloves make a CLANG sound upon impact. Mongol falls on his back, taking Manic with him as they slide across the helicarrier's flat top runway.

"Bet your sorry ass didn't see that coming!" Knuckles shouts while turning to his friends "You guys see me drop that fat tub of shit? I cracked him right in the-"

Three Android Shadow Clones tackle Knuckles and he barely has time to put his titanium gloves up to protect himself.

Tails is forced out of Eggman's control room by more Androids and forced to fly up towards his friends for help. Starr has trouble containing the GAMMA bot and the Clones at the same time, so she stands back-to-back with the ally Shadow Clone.

"Guys, there's too many of them!" Charmy shouts as he evades the Clones

The good Android Shadow gets an idea and calls out to Tails

"Prower, I need you to use your hacking program to lure the clones down to the artilery room inside the air ship! I'll take care of the rest"

"Alright, I'm on it!" the fox shouts

Shadow and Knuckles share eye contact for a moment, then they give an approving nod to the other for the final time. Tails is able to hack into Eggman's network and take control of the Shadow clones, taking the pressure off of everyone.

Starr watches her ally Shadow follow the rest of the clones inside the air ship, confused as to what's going on

"Shadow, what're you doing? Hey! What's going on?!" She shouts desperately

The Android looks up at the teenager he's taken care of for the past year, with the slightest of smiles, then shuts the blast doors behind him. Once inside, Shadow aims his machine gun at a gas tank mounted on the wall and fires.

The 5th helicarrier is engulfed in flames as every level explodes. Starr tries to search through the wreckage as it falls from the sky, but there's nothing except burning, twisted metal.

"...he's gone" Tails says

While everyone is distracted, Eggman activates a massive tank on top of his final helicarrier, and two small doors open, revealing a tall crane that rises. This crane lifts a long, metal cannon,

the exact same cannon used to send Sonic to The Nexus two years ago.

Metal Sonic blindsides Amy and Sonic, knocking the pink hedgehog away from her boyfriend. The Machine wraps his metallic hand around his throat and they fly up to the cannon.

Before Eggman can fire it, Knuckles tackles Mongol and they bump into the weapon, moving the line of sight away from Sonic.

"Manic! Get up here and help!" Knuckles orders

The green hedgehog jumps up to meet them and both he and Knuckles attack Mongol. They hit the beast with everything they've got, clearly hurting him, while Tails gives Amy a lift up to fight Metal Sonic.

She's able to break the machine's grip from Sonic's throat, and Tails uses the SAGE program to shut it down.

Amy kneels next to her injured boyfriend "It's alright, you're okay Sonic, I've got you"

Sonic looks behind Amy and watches Metal Sonic backhand Tails out of the sky, then lunge towards them. The blue hedgehog pushes Amy out of the way and he blocks the machine's attacks,

however Metal Sonic is able to drive a metal rod through Sonic's chest, impaling the blue hedgehog on the spot.

Amy screams as she smashes Metal Sonic with her hammer, damaging it to the point where it can't stand. Tails flies back around and kicks the machine off the air ship, then both kneel next to their bleeding friend.

"We gotta put pressure on the wound!" Tails says

The fox holds a large rag on his best friends' chest while Amy rests Sonic's head in her lap.

"Sonic, please just breathe, you'll be okay! Please!" Amy says as she sobs

Knuckles jumps at Mongol but the beast knocks him back down with a power hook punch, and does the same to Manic. Eggman appears on the swiveling TV to taunt the friends once more.

"This cannon sent you off the planet last time-"

The red lights along the sides of the cannon begin to illuminate one by one

"...this time it'll kill you for good"

Mongol stops Knuckles on the platform from trying to shut off the cannon, and Sonic embraces Amy and Tails one last time.

Manic suddenly jumps in front of the trio and shouts "_**COME ON!**_"

The cannon fires a powerful blast and the green aura that surrounded Manic disappears in a flash,

while the Jade Green Medallion falls into Sonic's hand, instantly healing him.

Enraged, Knuckles snarls at the beast and attacks him with the remaining strength he has. His titanium gloves CLANG off of Mongol's face, and he steps in for the most powerful straight right punch he's ever thrown. The beast falls directly into the path of Eggman's cannon and it explodes as it fires one last beam of energy right through Mongol's chest.

The beast is blasted off the helicarrier and everyone on the ground watches the mammoth plummet 600 feet into the ocean, and Tails uses the SAGE program to cut Eggman's connection completely.

Amy checks on Sonic, he's healed enough to sit up on his own. Tails looks over the edge and looks at the carnage left from this battle. He uses SAGE to take control of the remaining helicarriers and slowly land them in the grass valley, signaling the end of the fight. Rouge, Charmy and Starr join the others on the runway.

"...is everybody okay?" Sonic asks

Everyone nods, except Starr

"Hey, kid?"

"I'm gonna go look for Manic" Starr replies

"I'll go with her" Tails says

The female hedgehog jumps off the air ship and Tails floats back down next to her, while Amy wraps her arms around Sonic and lovingly squeezes before she kisses his cheek.

"We made it. We won"

Knuckles crosses his arms and leans against the haul of the ship

"Knux?"

"...I wanna be happy that this is all over but uh... Manic and Shadow are gone. I treated 'em like shit, both of them, but they were good guys. I see that now"

Amy helps Sonic stand up and they walk over to the tall echidna

"I think they both knew they were making the right choice, so we should respect that. That's how we keep them alive"

Sonic extends his hand, and this time Knuckles wraps his arms around both of the hedgehogs for a group hug.

Agent Warwick greets them as the helicarrier lands in the field, nodding his head in approval.

"I knew you had one last fight left in you rockstars" The Suit says

"What's gonna happen here? These ships, or Mongol's body?" Sonic asks

"I got a couple teams diving down to recover Mongol as we speak. As for this mess, well.. we'll think of something"

"What about that fat prick Eggman? He's the one who made this mess!" Knuckles asks

"Oh, his computer privileges will definitely be taken away. I've actually thought about cutting him loose entirely, but that's classified stuff. As for his bots, we'll have someone go around Mobius to collect them... Come on, let's go round up your friends"

"What for?" Amy asks

"You're retirement announcement. Oh yeah, I'm gonna need that-"

Warwick takes the Jade Medallion from Sonic and puts it in a briefcase

"That's a family heirloom, pal. It better end up some place safe" Sonic says

A silver limousine pulls up and Warwick grins

"I think it'll be just fine"

Sonia steps out of the back seat and she runs over to Sonic, while her assistant takes the briefcase.

"Oh my god, Sonic, I'm so glad you're home! I missed you so much!" Sonia says

"Hey sis. You mind giving us a ride back downtown? We're not exactly in walking shape"

"Of course. Climb inside the limo, there's room for everyone"

Amy and Sonia exchange a quick hug, then Knuckles faces his ex girlfriend once again

"Hey Sonia"

"Hi Knuckles"

Warwick makes eye contact with both of them, then heads back to his truck, leaving them in complete silence.

"...you heard anything from Julie?"

"Yes, we're finally on speaking terms. And you need to go see here, come on, I'll take you to her on our way back into town"

Knuckles, black eyes and all, manages to smile at a girl who once hated him, because now they're back to being friends.

Everybody climbs in the limo and it takes off back downtown, meanwhile Warwick pulls up to Tails standing alone in the grass field.

The Suit rolls his window down "Let me guess: Starr took off"

"She has nothing left, so she's going to take her chances out there" Tails replies

"Yeah, understandable. Now let's go, you've got a retirement party to attend, kid"

Tails opens the back door but hesitates

"...be honest with me, Warwick, because I could easily outrun you... you're not just gonna lock us up, are you?"

"Kid, I gave my word and I always keep it. You and you're friends will be free to go once you publicly resign as vigilantes"

Tails doesn't say anything, just gets in the back seat and rests in the comfy leather seat. Warwick drives the teenage fox back into town, grateful for what he and his friends have done, even if he won't say it out loud.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: The End Of The End**_

**1 HOUR LATER**

Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles walk off the set of a stage inside a downtown auditorium and are guided into a catering area to sit. Agent Warwick is on stage giving a final word about the future security of Green Hill Zone, and all of Mobius.

As they wait for The Suit to finish, Knuckles walks over to a table of food and taps the shoulder of someone working security backstage.

"These are free to take, right?" Knuckles asks

"Yeah"

The tall Echidna grabs a plate and stacks it high with hamburgers, hotdogs and potato salad, then sits next to Tails on a large couch and digs in.

Sonic laughs "You hungry there, Knux?"

"Starving" He answers in between bites "You guys aren't gonna have any? That guy said it's free to take"

"I don't really have an appetite right now, seeing as we're still stuck in Warwick's custody" Amy says

"So he sends us to jail, big deal! This is probably gonna be the last decent meal we'll have before we go down. Come on, I don't wanna be the only one eating, guys, grab a plate!"

"I guess I could go for a burger" Tails says as he stands up

"That's the spirit, kid. Hey, grab me a Coke while you're up there!"

A stage hand comes by to turn the volume up on the nearest TV and everyone listens to Warwick's closing statement.

**...and in regards to our vigilante heroes: Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose and Miles "Tails" Prower will herby remain free in our society due in part to their heroic actions to save the world from the terrorist threat Mammoth Mongol.**

Knuckles stops chewing "What, I didn't do shit to help, now?"

**However, Knuckles the Echidna and Manic the Hedgehog cannot be completely pardoned of their numerous crimes, no matter how much good they do-**

"Of course..."

**...but I will make an exception in Knuckles' case in the form of redemption, and this is only up to him. I'll give him the chance to work off his sentence. It's a special deal we are normally not permitted to make, however this is not a normal situation we find ourselves in. And as I said, this is completely up to him.**

Amy leans over "Knux, you should take that deal. You don't wanna end up in prison again"

"Yeah, Starr and her friends took this same deal and look where that got them. Screw that!"

**...as for Manic, and I know you're listening: I can only advise you surrender yourself peacefully, or face the full force of the law.**

"Manic is alive?" Amy asks

"I knew the kid wouldn't stay down for long" Knuckles replies

**...and finally, the matter of national security. We assure you that the G.U.N foundation has all the tools necessary to fight any and all threats, present or future, because we've learned an awful lot from our Sonic Heroes. With that said, the days of vigilante justice are officially over. On behalf of everyone here, we thank you for your service and sacrifice.**

"Yeah, whatever, you fake douchebag"

Tails comes back with his plate "The lady over there said they were out of Coke so I got you a Pepsi, that cool?"

Knuckles takes the can "Yeah, I guess so"

Agent Warwick has his security team wave off all news reporters and he makes his way over to Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles in the catering area.

"I'm glad you guys stuck around, I wanted to say one last thing before I let you go-"

"Apart from me" Knuckles says

"Knux, I want there to be no hard feelings about Vace Beach, that was a long time ago. And, I want you to know I meant it when I said I was gonna make you that deal to reduce your sentence" Warwick says "I even have the terms written up right here-"

The Tall Echidna stands up "I have _two_ conditions"

Warwick inhales sharply "...alright, let's hear them"

"First, I wanna see my girl Julie, and I mean be with her when our child is born, not just a quick stop in"

"Of course, you can see her. As a father, myself, I know how important it is to be there for my kids, and I respect you enough to let you be there when it happens. You've got my word on that"

"...secondly, if I'm working for you dickheads again, then I want you to reduce Vector and Espio's sentences, as well as mine. You screwed them over the same way you got me, and you know they shouldn't be in there" Knuckles says

Warwick takes a moment to think this through

"If you can meet those demands, then I'll sign your waiver and be your cleanup guy"

Warwick extends his hand "I'll have our legal team write up a new contract as soon as possible"

Even though he doesn't completely trust him, Knuckles shakes Warwick's hand, then sits back down to finish his plate.

Warwick grabs his car keys "This next part is kinda private, guys, don't want anyone listening in... I wanna talk to each of you one-on-one. So, let's go for a little ride"

* * *

Sonia has the Jade, Crystal and Sapphire Medallions lined up on her kitchen counter and she sits by the front door, waiting for her brother to come knocking. She knew right away Manic survived getting shot and falling from Eggman's helicarrier, and she knows that he'll be here to get his Medallion back. Because he needs it.

Or so she thinks.

After excusing most of her security team for the night, only 5 guards patrol the property outside, giving anyone fast enough a chance to get inside without being noticed.

As Sonia finishes her glass of wine, she hears light tapping on a glass door near the side of her mansion. She jumps out of her seat and opens the door,

only to be met by Starr.

"Starr? What are you doing here? What happened to you?" Sonia asks as she lets the teenager inside

"...it's starting to rain outside, and there ain't many places somebody like me can hide" she answers

Sonia wraps a blanket around the 16 year old, and they sit by the fireplace to warm up.

Tears start streaming down Starr's face as she speaks

"Shadow was all I had, Sonia. And now he's gone. An android took better care of me than my own parents did!... that's pretty sad.."

"Well, I can't speak for your parents, but I've met Shadow and I know he was good. A tiny bit homicidal, but he meant well. And I'd say he did a pretty good job with you... I know it might seem weird, with androids and aliens around, now, but it's not the end of the world. You are free, and you're still young. You could change the world for the better, with all the powers you have, and make it safer for girls like you"

"You think so?"

Sonia grins "Somebody inspired me to do the same thing when I was your age, and I did it. So, I know you can, too"

Starr embraces the pink hedgehog for a moment, then they sit back in their chairs

"...Android Shadow wanted to find the original Shadow, said he needed help. And I told him I'd help him do it, Sonia. But, I just don't know what to do..."

Sonia looks at her "Well, you have to know if you wanna help, or just continue on by yourself. Once you can answer that, then you'll know what to do"

Starr exhales "I mean, I wanna help, but look at all the trouble Knuckles and Manic got into for trying to help. I don't wanna go to prison, or go on the run for the rest of my life! But..."

"You do whatever you think is best for you, not Shadow, not anybody else, just YOU. I know what getting involved will mean, and I also know what staying out of it means. But it's different for you. Much different. And that's your call"

Starr makes up her mind "I am going to find Shadow. I made a promise, and hopefully I can save at least 1 person along the way. This is what I wanna do"

Sonia smiles "You're welcome here as long as you like. And you know you can count on me for resources"

"Thank you"

The magenta hedgehog looks into the kitchen and notices all three Medallions sitting out on display.

"Were you expecting Manic to come by and take his medallion?"

Sonia looks over and sighs "...Yeah, I guess I was. It's just, I'm so used to him asking for help, and given what happened tonight, I kinda want him to come back here... but he would've showed up by now if he was.. I guess he's finally moving on. I hope he does well out there"

As Sonia looks over the city skyline through her window, Manic stays in the shadows as he sneaks through town without alerting the police. He heard Warwick's ominous warning he gave during his press conference, and the green hedgehog plans on staying free.

Manic received a slight burn when Eggman fired his cannon at him, but the Jade Medallion helped absorb most of the pain, and even sealed the wound. But, as he walks through the streets, Manic can feel the Jade energy leaving his body, though it works to heal and energize him every second of the way.

He opens his phone and contemplates calling one of his friends for help, but ultimately he rules against it. He's gotten them involved with enough of his schemes.

He feels the Jade energy leave his body completely and doesn't plan on going back to Sonia's to retrieve it, knowing his journey would be a lot easier with it's enhancements,

but it's time to move on from the Medallion.

Manic starts sprinting through the streets of Green Hill, there's not a second to waste while G.U.N hunts him. He doesn't know where to go, only to keep moving forward.

* * *

After Warwick dropped Knuckles off at the residence his pregnant girlfriend Julie Su is staying at, Sonic Amy and Tails are driven to an airport. They get out and The Suit pulls Tails aside to talk to him privately.

"Listen, kid, I went ahead and booked a flight for the three of you, but I wanted to ask you something before you go-"

"Oh, you just assumed we wanted to leave Green Hill? Typical" Tails says

"It's part of the retirement deal. Now look, I just wanna know if you are ready to retire, you know, from this life"

"Is this a test?"

"No, I'm 100 percent serious, I booked a flight to a tropical island, you know, just as a vacation. You are free to leave there anytime. I just gotta know now-"

"Why do you wanna get rid of us?"

Warwick sighs "We don't need any copy cat Sonic Heroes. If you three go off on vacation, then it would send a message to anybody trying to be a vigilante that, even the best ones need to take a break. That's all"

"...what happens if I say no?"

"Then I tear up your ticket and you are free to go. But you have to uphold your end of our deal, which means you can't keep the SAGE program"

Warwick holds out his hand and Tails decides it's best to just hand over his A.I hacking device without a fight.

"Thank you. Now, what's your answer on the trip?"

"...I'm going to assume Sonic and Amy are going because you drove us all the way out here, so obviously somebody is getting on that plane"

"I asked Sonic first and he sounded relieved to finally get a break from it all. It sounds like he needs this, kid. Of course, once Amy heard, she decided to join him. But, that's their choice. What's yours?"

"...I know Sonic needs this the most, and Amy deserves paradise after what she's been through... but I can't sit back and retire, not just yet. Geez, I'm only 17! What am I gonna do out there? I wanna finish school here. So my answer is no. I'm not going on that plane"

Warwick pulls out the third plane ticket and rips it in half, then throws it out.

"Alright, it's official. I'll give you a few moments to say your goodbyes"

Tails walks into the terminal and joins Sonic and Amy

"Well, I heard about the little trip Warwick is sending you guys on. I would go but, there's still so much stuff I have to do" Tails says "But I understand your choice. It's been rough, these past 3 years, and I know you need a break. So, you guys go. Enjoy it. I'll call you everyday, you don't have to worry about me"

"We'll be back in no time, Tails, I promise" Amy says

She wraps her arms around Tails for a big hug, then he looks at Sonic

"I didn't think I was ever gonna see you again, man. But I'm glad you could come home" Tails says, trying to keep the tears from rolling down his cheeks

"So am I, little brother. And I'm glad everyone made it back with me"

The blue hedgehog hugs his best friend, then Amy pulls out her phone to take a selfie with them before they board their plane.

"We'll be back in a couple months, bro, I promise" Sonic says

"Take as long as you need, Sonic. That girl went to hell and back for you, man. Cherish her" Tails says as he waves goodbye

His best friends wave one last time and then they disappear into the crowd of travelers, so Tails nods and turns around to leave the terminal.

Warwick greets him outside "So, do you need a ride into town, kid?"

"Yeah, actually, drop me off near the cemetery on Gore road"

"Cemetery? Alright, whatever you say"

After a short ride back into town, Tails gets out of the patrol car and he waits til it's gone. He makes his way into the graveyard and walks past the hundreds of headstones. It's very nerve racking for the fox, being that it's almost midnight, but this is an important trip.

It's where he buried his original SAGE program.

He eventually reaches Sonic's mausoleum that was built after his death was reported. Of course, he's alive and well, but the monuments' become popular among the locals so the groundskeeper decided to keep it.

"Huh, there used to be a door on this" Tails says before realizing his stash might be gone

The Fox races inside and begins digging up where he left the lockbox, and sighs in relief the moment he touches the metal box. He opens it up and finds the silver touchscreen device is still is mint condition.

Tails puts the SAGE program in his pocket, buries the lockbox and rushes out of the graveyard as fast as he can.

He might not be able to use it to help anymore, but he knows he's got a fail-safe in case of an emergency.

* * *

Knuckles and Julie sit at a bench inside the visitor's area at Prison island, they're here to see Vector and Espio. The wait 10 minutes before prison guards escort the jumpsuit-wearing Crocodile and Chameleon over to their visitors. Knuckles and Julie hug their longtime friends and they all sit at the bench to talk.

"So, how far along are you, Jules?" Vector asks

The pink Echidna smiles "About 8 months"

Knuckles puts his arm around her "We're having a daughter, can you believe that? We're about to be parents, boys!"

"Congrats, guys. I always said you two would be great together" Vector says

Espio grins "I wish you the best of luck, my friends"

Knuckles looks over "Hey man, I made a deal with Warwick today. I'm working to get you outta here. Soon, too. I'm not just gonna let you guys rot in here for shit you didn't do. I've got your back"

"We appreciate that, Knux... so, how's everyone else doing?" Vector asks

"Well... it's a funny story"

Tails arrives at his house in Green Hill and opens a big garage door, revealing his X-Tornado airplane inside.

_...before we split up, Tails told me that he was going back to school, the same one Charmy goes to. But, he also mentioned something about a prototype A.I he had? I'm not too sure. I just know that the kid will be alright._

Manic keeps his head down as he runs through the rainy streets, trying to get as far away from civilization as possible.

_...Manic's a tough kid, but I'm not too sure he can handle the shit show he's gotten himself into. If he's smart, he'll keep on running, at least til he gets away from this side of the boarder... I hope he gets there._

The sun shines over Seaside Island as Amy and Sonic's plane lands on the runway. They grab their luggage and walk out of the terminal, and look over the large beachfront thats in front of them.

_...Amy texted me saying she's going on vacation with Sonic. After everything that's happened to that girl, I say she's earned a leave of absence. Sonic too, I guess. I'm just glad this whole thing is over with now, and we can move on. In peace._

As the two hedgehog's enjoy the view, a short female badger notices them, so she walks over to introduce herself.

"Well, hey there, strangers, how're you doing? I see you're new to the island"

"Oh, hello! Yeah, we just got here, we're actually on vacation. My name's Amy, this is Sonic"

The hedgehog waves "Hey"

"Nice to meet you's, Amy and Sonic. My name is Sticks. I'm kind of uh, the adventurer around here. Town delinquent, if you will. I can show you two all around this place, if you want. I know everything you'd wanna know about Seaside Island, at least, mostly everything"

"Yeah, that'd be great, Sticks!"

The badger smiles

"I can already tell we're gonna get along just fine. So anyhow, over here we got the Blue Pebble Trail, it'll take you ALL the way through the jungles to the east..."

As Sticks leads the way, Sonic wraps his arm around Amy and they follow close behind. The sun glimmers off the blue ocean in the background as the trio walk across the massive beach.

The End.

**HEY GUYS, IT WAS REALLY FUN WRITING THIS ONE. I KNOW THE ENDING SETS UP A FEW MORE STORIES, AND I PLAN ON WRITING THEM SOON IN THE NEW YEAR, BUT I THINK I'M GOING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THESE AFTER MY NEXT FANFIC, TITLED** "Tricked: Manic's Last Chance"

**I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THESE AS MUCH AS I ENJOY WRITING THEM. UNTIL NEXT TIME, PEACE!**

**~Menace3117**


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